Fort Worth Inc. - May-June 2018

8 things to know about Fort Worth’s med school and growing healthcare sector

FEATURES

36 The Son Also Rises: Bruce Conti has spent many years developing hundreds of thousands of square feet in Fort Worth. But it’s the old Levitz Furniture building on Camp Bowie Boulevard that has as special place in Conti’s life — a place where Conti hopes his 23-year-old son can learn to walk again.

42 Shiny New Toy: The city looks to build the identity of the Near Southside and its health care offerings.

46 Racing for a Cure: At 81, Paul Dorman remains ambitious. First, fund student tuition at TCUUNTHSC’s new medical school. Next, find a cure for cancer. And Dorman says he’s pretty close.

52 Gone to Market: Four local life sciences startups are heading to market. Let’s check in on how they’re doing.

57 Top Doctors: The best doctors in the house.

( BIZZ BUZZ )

9 Bizz Buzz: Activity brews in an old grill near Texas Wesleyan, and life sciences companies shine at TCU’s Values and Ventures Competition.

11 Comings and Goings: Fort Worth’s Walsh development has big plans for 2018.

12 Stay Informed: Entering a pitch competition? Here are a few ways to impress the judges.

14

Face Time: Fort Worth is right on the cusp of becoming a Blue Zones city.

16 Around Cowtown: Snapshots from the area’s hottest business events.

( EXECUTIVE LIFE & STYLE )

20 Distinctive Style: A retired banker ventures into fashion with no industry experience and no sewing ability — just business savvy and a circle of friends.

22 Off the Clock: How to stay in an exotic bungalow over the ocean … for the weekend.

24 Office Space: Is this an art gallery? Nah, it’s the office.

30 Wine & Dine: Where to find a $120 tenderloin — and more extravagant dishes at local fine dining spots.

32 Gadgets: Big-name pop culture conventions are tapping this locally made app to help plan their events. Here’s how it can help you.

34 Health & Fitness: Take your workout out of the gym.

( COLUMNS / DEPARTMENTS )

82 EO Spotlight: Audiologist and entrepreneur — Robin Carson is both.

84 Business Strategy/Running Toward the Roar: Jamey Ice is no stranger to risk.

86 Analyze This/Energy: Texas sees growth for oil and gas production, use of oilfield equipment, and jobs and employee hours.

88 Analyze This/Commercial Real Estate: Telling the Fort Worth story.

90 Analyze This/Insurance: What recent studies show about stroke treatment, and why one local doctor wants to spread the word.

92 Analyze This/FW Chamber Report: Fort Worth’s economic development victories.

94 Analyze This/Legal and Tax: Sexual harassment in the workplace is real. Know the warning signs and how to keep your employees safe.

96 Analyze This/Wealth: Changes in the health care sector could come with risks.

98 Business Leadership/ Management Tips and Best Practices: How to make your employees more engaged.

100 Business Leadership/ Successful Entrepreneurship: Say “please,” but don’t forget to say “thank you” too.

102 Business Leadership/ Startups: What the BAC Education Foundation/AccelerateDFW rebrand means for local entrepreneurs.

104 Day in the Life: Medical City Fort Worth’s new CEO makes his rounds.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

63 The Registry: Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry.

Just one of the many artsy spaces found in The Foundry District's Wheelhouse.

Find out how to stay in a bungalow without leaving the continent.

Raising Them Right

While it all culminates with the day of judging, the lessons learned along the way will last a lifetime. There’s been too little sleep and too much grooming, pre-dawn alarms and late night feedings. But when it’s all said and done, you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. At Heritage Land Bank, we congratulate the young men and women of 4-H and FFA. You are the future of our industry and we are committed to your success.

Company Growth and Giving Back

In 2017 WalletHub produced a study to determine the best large cities in the U.S. to launch a business.

Using 18 relevant metrics, it compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across three key categories. Fort Worth landed at 20th of 150, which is 10 places in front of our neighbors to the east. One of the reasons for Fort Worth’s high overall ranking was its 11th position in the business environment category, where sales growth was one of the main metrics.

While present profitability is essential to a company’s success, consistent yearover-year sales growth is possibly the most appealing factor in attracting investors and analysts. With this in mind, I am excited to announce FW Inc’s FASTESTGROWING COMPANIES. Think Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, or the Inc. 5000, but only Greater Fort Worth businesses.

While we all enjoy these national lists, our chances of actually knowing the owners or being presented with investment opportunities are not very high. Not so with our list. And, while you may not have heard of some of these companies yet, in due time, there's no doubt many of them will be on the tips of your tongues and on future pages of FW Inc. For more information, see page 105.

Speaking to company growth, Bruce Conti, founder of Conti Warehouses (our cover story this month), ended his first year in business in 1997 with 90,000 square feet of holdings. He grew that 34

times to over 3 million square feet, before divesting of some buildings, putting him at around 1.7 million square feet today.

Of all of Conti’s warehouse acquisitions, none is more important (and less profitable) than the 144,000-square-foot warehouse on Camp Bowie that was formerly the Levitz Furniture building. It is here where Conti is on a mission much more important than making money. His mission is for his 23-year-old son to walk again.

To that end, Conti has spent $5 million in converting the building into Neurological Recovery Center, now the largest robotic physical therapy clinic in the U.S. with 143 patients and a waiting list of 33. Conti lost $1.5 million on the center last year, but this venture is not about profit, it’s about giving back. In late 2017, the clinic added a new veteran rehab area for disabled veterans that will treat patients at no charge.

Luke 12:48 says, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” Conti has been very successful in business, and he, along with his wife Lee Anne, has a mission of using their gifts to the benefit of others. There are many successful people in Fort Worth that I respect, but the ones I respect the most are the ones who understand that true success comes when we give back.

Hal A. Brown owner/publisher

At Gus Bates Insurance, our clients rely on us to help guide them through the complex world of insurance and investments. But t before

( BIZZ BUZZ )

What Everyone's Talking About Around the Water Cooler

Change A-Brewin’

The daughter-in-law of a former Fort Worth city councilman has big dreams for an old building near Texas Wesleyan.

BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN

Five years have passed since food was last served at 1417 Vaughn Blvd., a place where Texas Wesleyan University students and faculty would often gather for burgers and chicken at the old Poly Grill.

But that could change this year, as plans are in motion to bring a new business to the currently vacant 1940s building — a coffee shop.

Behind the project is Mia Moss, daughter-in-law of former Fort Worth City Councilman Frank Moss. The coffee shop will be called Black Coffee, inspired by “all my family ever drank” growing up, Moss said.

But the menu will have a little more than black coffee — Moss, who attended the American Barista & Coffee School in Portland, plans to serve espresso-based beverages like cappuccinos, lattes

and mochas, as well as teas and, eventually, local beer and wine for the afternoons. She has chosen Dallas-based Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters to be her supplier and also tapped friend and Arlingtonbased chef, Deneice Cobb, who owns catering company Taste of Class, to create a menu of premade meals and paninis that will be made in-house.

Moss said she hopes to “merge the coffee culture with the culture on the East Side” and bring an establishment similar to what can be found on the Near Southside’s West Magnolia Avenue.

“To go right across [Interstate] 35, you don’t see any of that over there. It’s a shock,” she said. “I think it’s going to be great.”

The 1,373-square-foot building was built in 1940, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District. The building has housed several restaurants over the years, including Griddle System No. 2, Jenkins Cafe and, most recently, Poly Grill, a soul food restaurant that

closed in 2013. The following year, David Howard, president of the nonprofit Empower ME Corporation, purchased the property.

At press time, Howard said he was fixing to close the sale of the property (he said the sale would close about 20 days from press time). He’s selling the building for $180,000, believing in the building’s new purpose. “[The coffee shop] is much needed in the community,” he said.

There’s still much work to be done. At press time, Moss said she is looking for potential investors and an architect for the building renovation. She expects the shop to open before the end of the year.

“It’s a privilege to bring something like that over to the community,” she said. “I would love for the community to call it their own.”

Values and Ventures

Life sciences firms rise to the top of an eighth annual international collegiate business plan competition at TCU.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

Life sciences ideas rose to the top of the competition at this year’s TCU Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition, the university’s eighth annual April international collegiate business plan contest.

The $25,000 grand prize winner: Students from a University of Iowa team, ABAL Therapeutics, which automates facets of standard autism treatment, broaden-

ing access to children. Logan Grote, a computer science major, pitched the team’s idea, which he said also decreases clinic time and costs for the 750,000 U.S. children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. “We don’t want to replace the therapist,” Grote told the judges. “We want to build a better scalpel.”

Second place winner ($15,000, plus another $5,000 for winning the contest’s Founders Award): Grand Valley State University’s Orindi team, for its cold endurance masks, which help children with asthma play outdoors during the winter. For every two masks sold for industrial use, Orindi says it donates one to the American Asthma Foundation. “The human-centered design will help prevent the pain and panic of an asthma attack when children play outdoors in cold weather,” said Jordan Vanderham, who pitched Orindi at the contest.

Third place and the $10,000 award: University of Chicago for Sink Guard, to combat bacteria in hospitals and help prevent 100,000 deaths annually that result from diseases acquired from bacteria while in the hospital. The team originally set out to figure out a way to kill bacteria but ended up redesigning sink drains to ensure bacteria washed down could not come back up. “Can we save lives with a $50 device? Yes,” Ted Engels, the Chicago student who pitched the plan, told the judges. Teams from 55 universities competed in the two-day contest, with more than 50 entrepreneurs, investors and bankers serving as judges. More information: neeley.tcu. edu/vandv.

Home on the Range

One year after its launch, west Fort Worth’s Walsh development is adding big amenities in 2018

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

Walsh, the sprawling west Fort Worth development that launched last year, is pushing ahead this year with the additions of key amenities, including two pools opening in time for the summer.

About 170 homes are under development, or completed, including ones purchased by more than 50 families who’ve already moved in, Bexie Nobles, director of community relations for Republic Property Group, the Dallas developer in partnership with Fort Worth’s Walsh family in development of their former ranch. By the year’s end, the developers expect as many as 200 of the 547 production lots will be spoken for by buyers, Nobles said.

The Aledo Independent School District’s Mary D. and F. Howard Walsh Elementary School opened for this school year in the development. Republic is lining up custom builders for 40 luxury custom lots. Custom builders already approved: John Askew Custom Homes; Glendarroch Homes; HGC; Sean Knight Custom Homes; MK Homes; Parkhill Homes; and Village Homes.

The development has opened a coworking building – currently doubling as the marketing center – that resident

Grand prize winner Logan Grote, center, with Matt Smilor and Homer Erekson of TCU's Neeley School of Business, left and right

entrepreneurs, freelancers, and innovators can use. The development also opened a 10,000-square-foot fitness center with movement studio, cardio and FreeMotion weight equipment, locker rooms and kids club. It will also have access to a planned junior Olympic pool.

The fitness center, drawing inspiration from antique fruit storage buildings in Europe, has arched windows and vaulted ceilings. An electrostatic glass separates the main gym from the movement studio and can be darkened by a switch, so residents can spin, stretch and do cardio in privacy.

In May, Walsh is opening a maker space building, with a Lego wall and tools such as 3-D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, and a wood shop. Walsh plans to sponsor the construction of a “Founders Fort” for children on the property, and families will use the wood shop to build the fort. “The kids will get to create something and build it,” she said.

Last year, Walsh opened a Village Market that sells basic grocery items; breads, salads and pastries from the Black Rooster Bakery; and tacos from Fort Worth’s Taco Heads restaurant on two days of the week. The market and coworking space also serve as a private club under Texas – that portion of the area is dry – that is able to sell beer and wine. “We had to find a platform until we could have an election,” Nobles said.

This summer, Walsh is opening a resort pool, with beach entry, shade structures, swim-up island, water slides, shaded baby pool, cabanas and sun deck. It’s also simultaneously opening a junior Olympic pool. The two pools will be separated by a sand volleyball court.

Also opened this year: a Theater Park & Imagination Playground. The heart of the park is a musical playground with jungle gym “accented by interactive Easter Eggs that unlock surprises such as musical instruments buried within the play structures.” The playground includes an in-ground slide, 100-foot zip line, and play engineering center where kids can build structures from giant foam blocks. The park is one of three in the development’s master plan, and it includes a public restroom.

As a student, Dan McCoy was active in Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, the biology honor society and as editor of the student newspaper, graduating summa cum laude.

Today, Dr. McCoy credits Tarleton with launching him toward his medical career, recognition as a Texas Monthly Super Doctor and D Magazine Top Doctor, and ascent to one of the health insurance industry’s most prestigious positions.

Tips for a Winning Pitch

BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN

Few things can be more grueling for an entrepreneur than a pitch competition. But, if you win, your business could get quite the payoff. Cowtown Angels member Luke Wittenbraker and TCU’s William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence, Michael Sherrod, have heard many a pitch in their entrepreneurial lifetimes. Here, they share a few tips on how to get through a pitch competition — and make it out a winner.

The business plan

LW: “I want to see realistic financials projections that make sense based on the plan’s pricing and go-to marketing strategy. I’ve seen plenty of plans projecting incredible sales growth over a three- to four-year initial period, but a lot of the time, they are missing how they are going to navigate to those goals. Projections can be difficult, especially for a startup or a new business plan, because you don’t know what you don’t know. In my personal view, I find conservative estimates to be more believable in the current business environment. An even more appropriate element that will always stand out to me is a summary of a base case and a best-case model. Even if you don’t have the ability to show me your entire financial model, show me your key market variables of X and Y, so that I can know how you got to Z. Prove to me you can make money when not everything goes your way (because it won’t), and you have my undue attention.”

The presentation

MS: “The presenters are the most important part of the presentation. They must present themselves as smart and grounded

individuals with good posture, thoughtful hand gestures, appropriate pauses, the energy and tone of your voice, and strong eye contact.”

LW: “Get. To. The. Point. If a minute has gone by, and I don’t know what your product or service is, you’ve lost my attention. Tell me what your business sells. I want to know. That’s why I’m here.”

The product

MS: “A product really stands out when its value component is part and parcel of the business — in short, there is no business without the value component of the business model.”

LW: “Wow me. Show me something I’ve never seen before or something used in a way that I’ve never seen before. Oh, also make it so someone else can’t easily copy it. Oh, also prove to me that people want to buy it. Sound hard? That’s because it is.”

So, what makes a pitch a winning one?

LW: “Be yourself. This is your business idea, and you are doing it because you care about it … A winning pitch should make me itch. As in, I want you to be done pitching, because I’m itching to ask you questions, because I’m excited about learning more about the opportunity.”

MS: “Practice, practice, practice and practice some more. Then do it again. And again. And again. Get it done within the allotted time … Very few people practice their pitches to perfection, and those that do, win.”

WORDS FROM A WINNER

Tips from Elyse Dickerson, whose company, Eosera Inc., won $50,000 from the 2015 North Texas Business Pitch Contest and $5,000 from the 2017 Mary Kay Pink Tank pitch competition.

When putting together a business plan, what elements do you typically zero in on the most? Market opportunity and how your company is filling the gap in the market are the most important parts to focus on. Next, how your company is different from everything else out there — how is your team prepared to execute against the idea?

What is it about your presentations that you think gets the judges’ attention? Telling a short and compelling story is the most important job for a presenter in a pitch competition. The audience needs to be able to retell your story after hearing it one time.

Finally, what do you think makes a pitch a winning one? Extensive preparation makes the difference between a winning pitch and not. This includes spending a lot of time developing the visual slides that support the story and practicing the presentation over and over until it becomes second nature.

Eosera is going to market. Turn to page 52 to see what’s next for Eosera and other Fort Worth startups.

The One Thing Every Business Plan Should Have: A Succession Strategy.

As a business owner, when you think about the future of your company, what comes to mind? Increasing revenues...launching new products...building partnerships. But what about planning for an exit strategy? Having a succession plan in place is key to protecting what you’ve built for future generations.

At The Private Bank at Bank of Texas, we can help you identify the tools and resources necessary to help formulate a succession strategy that meets your objectives. After all, just because you’ll eventually retire, doesn’t mean your legacy should too.

Let us help you plan for the future.

Tips To Remember

Begin Planning Early

The more time you have to plan your succession, the smoother the transition.

Involve

Your Family

Your plans will affect your beneficiaries; include them in the process to ease potential discord.

Identify a Successor

Whether a family member or a trusted employee, grooming for leadership takes time.

Know Your Market Value

Your company’s financial standing plays an integral role in your planning process.

Matt Dufrene

Blues Zones Fort Worth's local executive says the city is on track to achieve its goals for the well-being initiative later this year.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

Blue Zones Project Fort Worth, the largest demonstration site for the global well-being initiative, is nearing its goals for signing up work sites, people, restaurants, grocery stores, and schools and assisting in changes to community policy. The Fort Worth City Council earlier this year voted to make changes to the city’s no-smoking ordinance, prohibiting smoking in bars and bingo halls, viewed as the last major initiative to be undertaken after Blue Zones launched the Fort Worth project in 2015.

“We are narrowing in on meeting all those objectives that were laid out five years ago,” Matt Dufrene, Blue Zones' top local executive, said. Early this fall, “we will have met the majority of our certification requirements.” The national organization will then certify Fort Worth has met requirements for Blue Zones certification.

Texas Health Resources footed the $500,000 bill for a feasibility study in 2014; the project kicked off a year later with a four-year time frame toward certification. Blue Zones promulgates recommendations for better living based on lessons learned from communities where people live the longest. That’s said to lower health care costs, improve productivity, and promote higher quality of life.

community, putting family first, and having lifelong friends.

In work sites, Blue Zones Fort Worth has signed up 16 work sites, representing 57,000 employees. The goal is 70,000 employees represented. Blue Zones added Lockheed Martin in 2016, Bell Helicopter and TCU in 2017, and Tarrant County earlier this year. It’s working with the Fort Worth public schools. Dufrene: “That’s

going to get us right at our goal."

In personal engagement, which covers everything from personal pledges to individual visits to Blue Zones cooking classes, the organization has recorded 75,000 touchpoints. The goal is more than 83,000.

For restaurants, Blue Zones has signed up 59, against a goal of 63. That includes TCU Market Square and the Lockheed Martin and Bell cafeterias, counted apart from the work sites. Blue Zones surpassed its grocery store goal in 2017, with 19, against a goal of 14.

Blue Zones has signed up 37 schools in five school districts, against a goal of 44. In policy, it’s provided input into transportation, food, and tobacco. In transportation, that means policy that protects people who want to get around by means other than car. “We just want to make sure that all users of the road have safe routes and are accessible,” Dufrene said.

It promotes “Power 9” recommendations for individuals, including moving about naturally, living with purpose, downshifting to manage stress, stopping eating when 80 percent full, having a plant-focused diet, drinking alcohol moderately, belonging to a faith-based

Area Chambers Mixer

Business leaders from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Urban-Intertribal Community and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber came together April 3 at TCU for an Area Chambers Mixer.

(1) Erica Estrada, Eddie Hartfield, Dennise Babiche

Sports Series Luncheon

TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle discussed the Big 12 Conference’s new pitch clock rule, scholarships for the upcoming year and more at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s Sports Series Luncheon March 22 at Colonial Country Club.

(2) David Ahearn, Jim Schlossnagle

West Area Council Meeting

(6) Homer Erekson, Terry Montesi 1 2 3 4 5 6

More than 70 Fort Worth Chamber members gathered at the Kimbell Art Museum to hear about new projects and existing developments at the West Area Council meeting March 21.

(3) Michael Wheaton, Roger Venables, Robert Sturns

Small Business of the Year Awards

Pointwise won the 11-50 employee category of the Fort Worth Chamber's 2018 Small Business of the Year Award, presented by Independent Bank, on Feb. 20. Site Barricades was named top Emerging Business. The Paisley Heart won among 1-10 employees, and BorrowWorks LLC won the 51-150 employee category.

(4) Brooke Howerton, John R. Chawner, Betsy Price, Barry Kromann, Jeff Schuessler, Ben Wallace, Ben Gatzke

Central Area Council Meeting

More than 80 members came together at the Petroleum Club for the Central Area Council Meeting on March 1. City of Fort Worth Economic Development Director Robert Sturns and Assistant Director of Property Management Roger Venables spoke at the event.

(5) Shonnah Driver, Sandi Mitchell, Dione Kennedy

Tandy Executive Speaker Series

Homer Erekson, dean of the TCU Neeley School of Business, welcomed Terri Montesi, founder and CEO of Trademark Property, as his featured guest for the Tandy Executive Speaker Series in March.

Martin J. Noto Jr. President and CEO Fort Worth Region

EXECUTIVE LIFE & STYLE

20 Distinctive Style / 22 Off the Clock / 24 Office Space / 30 Wine & Dine / 32 Gadgets / 34 Health & Fitness

BANK ON IT

Cynthia Sadler doesn’t sew, and she’s never worked in fashion. But she does have 30 years of experience as a banker. When she started her accessory company, that came in handy.

BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN

Cynthia Sadler believes 2018 will be a “banner year” for her accessory company, Signature Cuffs. She currently has 6,000 products in production, licensed products at TCU’s bookstore and the Bass Performance Hall gift shop, and just completed a run at Dallas Market Hall’s Dallas Western Market in March.

Her company focuses on a singular item: the cuff.

“I spent a lot of time in boardrooms ... You need to dress the part in a corporate world,” says Sadler, who started the company after a long career as a Fort Worth banker. “You’re in a setting with a bunch of men in striped suits, and they’re all wearing white starched shirts. A lot of them have French cuffs. I just got to liking French cuffs.”

Sadler spent 30 years in the banking industry, most of which was spent at Frost Bank, before retiring in 2016. She had every intention to go back to work; she just wasn’t sure what to pursue.

HOW IT WORKS

After searching exhaustively, she couldn’t quite find what she was looking for.

The cuff has two parts: the sleeve portion and the cuff itself.

The sleeve portion wraps around the wrist, coming together with a metal designer button that sits atop the outside wrist bone. The fit of the cuffs can be adjusted using another set of white logo buttons on the sleeve. Pull the long sleeve of your outfit over the sleeve portion of the cuff, fold the cuff portion back and over the sleeve, and the look is complete. Be sure to pair the correct cuff with the correct wrist. The left has the care instruction label; the right does not.

So, she decided to not just make her own, but turn it into her next step in life — a business. There was just one problem: She had no experience in fashion and couldn’t sew a stitch. She went to Dr. Sally Fortenberry, a professor at TCU’s Interior Design & Fashion Merchandising department, who connected Sadler to Jenny Claire Siede, owner of fabric shop in.Style eXchange in Arlington. Sadler and Siede created a prototype — a simple, white cuff, dubbed Corporate White — and in January 2017, Signature Cuffs was born. After months of design and production work, the products launched that fall.

Before Sadler knew it, Christmas was around the corner, so she teamed up with Texas artist Dani Hale to produce a Christmas line and connected with Bass Hall to launch the line at the gift shop.

Signature Cuffs retail between $78-$98. They’re designed at the company’s Near Southside office, right next to Shinjuku Station, and manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. Orders are fulfilled at Woods Distribution Solution’s 250,000-square-foot warehouse in Fort Worth, and Expanco, a Fort Worth nonprofit that provides vocational services to adults with disabilities, assists with product assembly and package production.

The work has paid off — Sadler’s business savvy was recognized last October when the company became a Top 10 Finalist for the Fort Worth Business Assistance Center’s Fort Worth Business Plan. Signature Cuffs also won a Bronze ADDY Award for Packaging Design from the Advertising Club of Fort Worth in February.

Still, Sadler admits, she’s learning to “take it one step at a time.”

“All those years, 30 years of banking, prepared me for this,” she says. “With that said, none of that had any focus on manufacturing, production, web design — any of those areas; they were complete unknowns to me … I knew nothing about any of that, so I learned it.”

Then an idea came one day when Sadler was preparing for an evening event. She picked her outfit, a black sweater dress, but wanted to add a French cuff for a little flair.

But Sadler says her “biggest catapult” came through her TCU line — another learning curve, as the product went through an eight-month licensing process through IMG College Licensing. But by February, Sadler had products in the bookstore.

“If all goes well with TCU, IMG reps 200 other universities,” she says. “We’ve already had those conversations.”

Sadler's daughter-in-law, Lindsey (right), and friend's daughter, Callie (left), model the TCU cuffs.

Signature Cuffs' Denim & Mattress Ticking Stripe design

Cynthia Sadler in her office

Over the Sea

How to have the exotic bungalow experience without leaving the continent.

BY HAL BROWN

Every year couples go online and pile through magazines looking for a one-of-a-kind, ultimate luxury getaway. The pages that most often get bookmarked or dogeared are the dreamy thatch-roofed bungalows suspended over turquoise water. Unfortunately, most of these resorts are located in faraway destinations like Ta-

hiti in the South Pacific or the Republic of Maldives in South Asia, which entail a very long flight and two full days of travel time.

Today, however, you can be sitting on the deck of your chalet, suspended above the bright turquoise waters with a cocktail in hand, within a few hours at El Dorado Maroma’s Palafitos — Mexico’s first and only overwater bungalows in Riviera Maya. The romantic beaches of the Riviera Maya not only stand out for being the most beautiful in Mexico, they are also internationally recognized as some of the most breathtaking beaches in the world. And, the thatch-roofed Palafitos bungalows extend into the Mexican Caribbean from Maroma Beach, the best beach in Riviera Maya, and one of the top 10 beaches in the world, according to the Travel Channel.

El Dorado Maroma’s Palafitos is located at the south end of the El Dorado Maroma, one of a collection of

four classically elegant, unmistakably Mexican, adults-only resorts in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The other El Dorado Spa Resorts are El Dorado Royale, El Dorado Casitas Royale and El Dorado Seaside Suites — all in Mexico. Each of these AAA Four Diamond resorts are a part of the Karisma Hotels and Resorts, offering award-winning cuisine in a wide variety of settings. Their chefs and servers have been trained around the world, bringing a level of passion, creativity, sophistication and service that rivals the finest restaurants. Their wine list, crafted in conjunction with renowned Jackson Family Wines, has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. And bartenders in their many bars and lounges pour freely from the top shelf. The most amazing part is it’s all included.

El Dorado Maroma and the El Dorado Maroma Palafitos-Overwater Bungalows are located just 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen. While guests staying at

An overhead view of the walkway at El Dorado Maroma's Palafitos

A bungalow patio

the El Dorado Maroma do not have full access to Palafitos, Palafitos’ guests have full access to El Dorado Maroma’s three pools, six premier restaurants, five bars and a spa, all tended with an incredibly high level of service by dedicated staff. And, as a Palafitos Bungalow guest, you receive preferred reservations at all of the resort’s restaurants.

The Palafitos Bungalows come complete with butler service, added amenities and all of the opportunities offered at El Dorado Maroma. Sport fishing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and sailing are all offered within steps of the resort at Marina Maroma Paradise. And with weekly events, like the authentic fish market where guests select their own fish and have it grilled right at the Papitos Restaurant, El Dorado Maroma stands alone among other Riviera Maya resorts, offering plenty of opportunities for an unforgettable vacation.

There are 30 exquisite and unique Palafitos Bungalow suites offering breathtaking ocean views, glass-bottom floors, direct ladder access to the ocean, outdoor showers, private infinity pools, indoor Jacuzzis, and oversized decks with lounge chairs that look out onto the ocean horizon.

The Palafitos offers its own private, world-class overwater restaurant and spa. The Gourmet Inclusive Over Water Ocean Grill & Wine Bar features an open kitchen, with scenic views of the Carib-

bean Sea for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including menu creations inspired by the ocean and a glass floor, private dining room that make for unforgettable intimate events. Each Palafitos’ suite includes its own personal majordomo (that is, a personal assistant) that can see to each guest’s every need.

The Náay Spa is comprised of four spacious suites, delivering treatments based on traditional Mayan herbal practices and the richness of the region’s marine life, most notably highlighting the benefits of Maroma’s Sea Moss. Uniquely found only in the Caribbean and rich with mineral salts, Maroma’s Sea Moss boasts high antioxidant and detoxifying

powers. Guests have the option of indoor or private outdoor treatments during which they can relish in the serene, azure ocean surroundings.

Special services and amenities know no bounds at the stunning Palafitos, which run from around $2,000 to $3,500 per couple, per night, depending on the season, number of nights stayed and the direction the bungalow faces. Twentytwo bungalows face Maroma Beach, and eight elite bungalows face the Caribbean.

And, it’s all an approximately 2.5hour flight from North Texas to Cancun International Airport and 20-minute drive to the resort — now how’s that for a weekend getaway?

The restaurant inside the Palafitos resort

Bungalows offer views of the Caribbean from one's bedroom.

Bungalows sit atop the Caribbean Sea.

Art for Work’s Sake

The Foundry District’s professional space is just as art-driven as its exterior — art that means something for the workers inside.

Abit of navigating is required to reach The Foundry District: Pass the West Seventh Street traffic, Linwood-area construction, a slew of auto shops, and then — boom. The intensely bright and colorful murals stretching wallto-wall across what’s known as Inspiration Alley mark the spot.

The Foundry District is an office, restaurant and retail development by local developer M2G Ventures — a project that, as of now, spans 14 buildings totaling 87,000 square feet. While the district serves as home to local businesses like M&O Station Grill, Doc’s Records and Vintage, and The Lathery, it also features a creative office component: Wheelhouse.

“We played around with 30 different names and went through what each one meant, what resonated with us, what resonated with everyone else … Wheelhouse kept coming back to us,” said Susan Gruppi, who serves as co-president of M2G with twin sister Jessica Worman. “Each one of these groups within this, they’re the expert at their own trade — it’s ‘within their wheelhouse.’”

Wheelhouse consists of two 1950s buildings on Carroll Street, one across the street from the other. The building west of Carroll (known during development as “Wheelhouse I,” as it finished first) used to be a screen printing facility; the one on the east (“Wheelhouse II”) was a former medical office building. M2G purchased both buildings in 2016 and worked with local architects GFF and Schwarz-Hanson to build out the spaces. Wheel-

house I then became M2G’s initial office, and when Wheelhouse II opened in February, M2G moved there, while security company Tactical Systems Network took over M2G’s former space. Other companies currently officing in Wheelhouse include public relations and marketing firm Holland Collective, general contractor CG Northern Development and, soon, Fusion Medical Aesthetics, expected to move in come June.

The interior of Wheelhouse II is decidedly minimalist. Save a pop of geometric tile in the kitchen area and a wall of faux greenery at the entrance, the rest of the space is mostly solid white walls with black metal frames lining doorways and windows — a blank canvas, so to speak, for the art that would go in.

The space carries the feel of a small gallery. Spotlights are placed strategically to highlight the art; most pieces also feature a label with the artist’s name and title of the work.

Pieces were curated by M2G’s Chief Creative Officer Katie Murray, who, if you don’t know by now, is the mastermind be-

Wheelhouse is located in The Foundry District.

The kitchen and lobby of Wheelhouse II.

Clear glass separates the spaces in Wheelhouse I.

One of 28 Mantras by artist Brennan Bechtol

A hallway in Wheelhouse I

Return on Relationships

All the Ingredients for a PERFECT RELATIONSHIP

Beloved chef Tim always has numerous exciting projects underway and knows he can look to Origin banker Grant to make it happen.

“The people at Origin are like your neighborhood bartender,” he says. “They’re always happy to see you. They always have a great story to tell. And they always have the right answer.”

Start relationship banking at www.Origin.bank/relationships

Grant

James Origin Banker

Tim Love

Entrepreneur & Chef

hind the Dreamer mural series that includes the Don’t Quit Your Daydream mural at The Foundry District itself. Works vary from charcoal drawings by Texas Wesleyan University students to blow-up prints of black-and-white photographs by Dallasbased artist Ashley Whitt.

One of Murray’s own pieces is in the main hallway — a simple installation of black paper butterflies titled 2018 Migration of Monarch Butterflies January-April. Murray studied the butterflies’ actual migration pattern to depict the movement from California, to Texas, to Florida. At the end of the hallway is a yarn installation by Sheryl Anaya, set up on exposed metal rods that were part of the original building.

But, the art isn’t just for décor — it’s meant to inspire the workers inside, Worman says.

“It really reminds you to think outside the box and to elevate your game at all times,” Worman says. “You can come into this office ... you see a really awesome piece of art, and it reminds you of the path that you’re going on, and it takes a lot to get there.”

Wheelhouse I, though also lined with curated art, has a more industrial vibe. Its furniture is notably eclectic, ranging

from a 1980s purple couch that once belonged to Worman and Gruppi’s parents, to a coffee table made of recycled pasta racks from one of M2G’s other projects, the O.B. Macaroni Building. The modern furniture of Wheelhouse II comes from a variety of sources as well, including retailers like Article and Urban Outfitters.

“Anybody can develop four walls, but it’s the details that make something really special,” Worman says. “For us, the art, the furniture, the finishes, the brand — that’s all what makes people want to come here.”

The rest of The Foundry District is anywhere but done. Still to come: the first brick-and-mortar for local gift shop, Gifted; the Meyer & Sage culinary studio; Blackland Distillery; and Craftwork Coffee Co.’s largest location. At press time, about 2,000 square feet of space at Wheelhouse has yet to be filled.

“Whether we’re talking about Wheelhouse, or we’re talking about the way we develop property, it all has a brand and a story that ties to it … Nobody really cares about typical office space,” Gruppi says. “But do they want to be a part of something that’s bigger than them? Yes.”

The purple couch in Wheelhouse dates back to the 1980s. It once belonged to Susan Gruppi and Jessica Worman's parents.

HOLLAND collective's office features a yellow brick entryway.

HOLLAND collective's space in Wheelhouse

A conference room in Wheelhouse II

A conference room in Wheelhouse I

A yarn installation by artist Sheryl Anaya

SHELBY BRUHN President

Valliance Bank Fort Worth

Only the Finest

Six fine dining restaurants and the most extravagant things to get.

BY MEG HEMMERLE

Fort Worth’s dining scene is more than just Tex-Mex and barbecue. If you really want to impress your clients, treat them to one of the city’s more upscale establishments. Here, a selection of Fort Worth’s fine dining offerings — and the most extravagant thing to get.

A5 Wagyu Tenderloin - B&B Butchers & Restaurant $120

Located at The Shops at Clearfork, B&B

Butchers & Restaurant is one of the 10 U.S. members of the Kobe Beef Association in Japan. That means the restaurant is one of the few that offers authentic, certified A5 Kobe Beef. The A5 Wagyu Tenderloin from Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, is the most extravagant option on B&B Butchers’ menu. The tenderloin is priced at $120 for 4 ounces and $30 per additional ounce. It’s served tableside on a pink Himalayan salt block.

Seafood Tower - Grace $139

The priciest option on the dinner menu at Grace, the Seafood Tower features king crab legs, lobster tail, a selection of oysters, jumbo prawns and the chef’s daily offerings.

Dry-aged Steaks

- Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse Starts at $58

Del Frisco’s dry-aged steaks are tenderized up to 45 days before being served. The result? A more flavorful steak with notes like blue cheese and hazelnut. Choose among the dry-aged Prime Strip,

Colorado Prime Lamb, or Prime Ribeye.

Billionaire Margarita – Reata $49.95

Turn to the drink menu for Reata’s most extravagant offering: the Billionaire Margarita, made with Don Julio 1942 Anejo Tequila, Grand Marnier 1880 and Fresh Lime Juice.

Pepper-Crusted Buffalo Tenderloin

- Bonnell’s $49

This silky, smooth buffalo tenderloin is served with whiskey cream sauce, truffle pommes frites and grilled asparagus. Even better, it’s been labeled a “Cuisine for Healing” dish by the local nonprofit of the same name, meaning it’s one of the healthier options on the menu.

Zack Attack Seafood Salad - Mercury Chop House $18

If you’re not feeling a steak, go for Mercury Chop House’s Zach Attack Seafood Salad, made with mixed greens, jumbo lump crab meat and chilled shrimp. It’s named after owner Zack Moutaouakil.

A5 Wagyu Tenderloin at B&B Butchers & Restaurant

Craig Rogers President & CEO

Save the Dates... and the Time

Calling all event planners: This app is the go-to for large-scale pop culture conventions — and it was made right here at home.

BY ANDREW VAN HEUSDEN

Juggling dozens of moving parts is basically everyday life for an event planner.

Like most things, there’s an app for that — but this one is locally made, and it’s quickly catching on around the U.S. and abroad, particularly at comic book conventions.

Allcal, a social planning app for the iPhone and Android, is free to download but costs $500-$3,000 per year for a Pro or Branded membership, which includes features like website integration, engage-

ment stats and analytics.

The app launched in 2013 and has since expanded, partnering with larger events and conventions like Stan Lee’s Comic Con and RuPaul’s DragCon in Los Angeles, as well as Dallas Startup Week.

In March, Allcal announced it had been selected as the scheduling platform for Project Anime: Tokyo, which took place March 20, and Project Anime: Los Angeles, happening July 3 and 4, for the second consecutive year.

And, it’s all developed right here — All-

cal is based in North Richland Hills.

The next target for Allcal: film festivals. “We got our sales team now specifically targeting 3,400 film festivals in the U.S. with a very specific application of our production,” CEO Daniel Cocanougher said.

Here are just some of the features of the Allcal app:

• Create and sell tickets: Allcal will let you sell your own tickets for an event. Tickets can be digitally managed on the customer’s phone, and during the event, they can use the app to scan the ticket at the door.

• RSVP: The app can inform event hosts, businesses, or other guests on who is going to an event.

• In-app group chats: If you can’t find parking and are looking for suggestions, or want to engage with an attendee you saw at the event, Allcal has a chat application that allows hosts and attendees to communicate. At conventions, panel boards can also create their own chat for groups.

• Engagement analytics: Allcal provides analytic reports from the event, including the number of attendees or how many users are communicating in chat rooms.

• Giveaways: For customers who need an incentive to get on Allcal, contests and giveaways are integrated into the app. Business owners and venue planners can easily install this for attendees.

• Emails and notifications: Venue and business owners can send users a daily schedule with all of the daily events. Also, owners can notify users if an event was rescheduled or canceled.

• Customization: This feature allows customers to customize their own calendar and even display it on their website.

Sweat It Out, Outside

Get out of the gym. Here are five ways to take your workout outdoors.

BY MEG HEMMERLE

Warmer temperatures have local retail centers inviting patrons over for a workout session — outdoors. For developers, it’s an effort to not just promote health and community but also build an audience for their projects.

Cassco Development, the company be-

WESTBEND: ROOFTOP

YOGA

Located along the Trinity River and colorfully decorated with local art, the WestBend retail development on University Drive is a scenic spot to go on a walk, run or bike ride next to the water. But one WestBend tenant, CorePower Yoga, has been known to host a free yoga class at sunset on top of the parking garage, followed by live music.

hind the Clearfork community that includes The Trailhead and The Shops at Clearfork, is one of them. The Trailhead, for example, has been hosting outdoor fitness classes since the fall of 2013, before the majority of the development and its storefronts were built.

“Clearfork is a newer development in Fort Worth, so by hosting community events, we can get the public’s attention in a good way

WATERSIDE: A WORKOUT … WITH DRINKS

From March through October, Waterside — Trademark Property Co.’s 63-acre, mixed-use project at Bryant Irvin Road and Arborlawn Drive — hosts Wine Down Wednesdays with free yoga at The Grove and special drink deals at local participating restaurants. Every week, the yoga class is hosted by an instructor from a different yoga studio in Fort Worth.

that brings people together and to the area,” said Brittney Fellers, marketing coordinator at Cassco. “The goal of the program was to connect the community with free fitness classes through a partnership with a dedicated team of community partners who host the classes.”

So, get out there. Here are five developments that host outdoor workouts on the reg.

SUNDANCE SQUARE: YOGA IN

THE PLAZA

Join other yogis for sun salutations in Sundance Square. Sundance Square Plaza hosts yoga and Zumba classes every other week on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. Amon G. Carter, Jr. Downtown YMCA partners with Sundance Square to instruct the free classes.

FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS: GOAT YOGA

Turns out goats like yoga just as much as people do. The practice of “goat yoga,” a workout class combined with animal-assisted therapy, has been growing in popularity across the country. Every class is different, but you can expect the goats to climb on your back while in Downward Dog or snuggle on your mat with you during Child’s Pose. Deep Ellum Yoga has occasionally partnered with the Stockyards to bring goat yoga to Fort Worth.

THE TRAILHEAD AT CLEARFORK: YOGA AND BARRE

The Trailhead offers numerous outdoor fitness classes during the week and on Saturdays. This spring, outdoor yoga classes will be taught by instructors from Indigo Yoga. Classes are offered hourly on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. All classes are located on the scenic Trailhead lawn that overlooks the Trinity River.

Yoga at The Trailhead

Bruce Conti, inside his Neurological Recovery Center in Fort Worth, which he built inside one of the industrial properties he owns.

THE SON ALSO RISES

Fort Worth warehouse owner Bruce Conti turns his love for transformation into his life’s biggest project – trying to help his son walk again.

BY TERESA MCUSIC / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD

Bruce Conti believes in transformation.

The native Fort Worth commercial real estate developer has taken buildings like the old Ranch Style Beans plant just east of downtown and turned it into the Trinity River Distillery and Wild Acre Brewing Co., with open air porches and indoor spaces for parties.

He bought the old Fort Worth Star-Telegram printing plant off Interstate 35 West with partners and converted that 280,000-squarefoot space into office and retail for tenants like Pier 1 Imports, Cook Children’s Medical Center and Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. Same with the 250,000-square-foot Bombay Distribution building in north Fort Worth’s Mercantile development.

Conti’s holdings also include the old Winn Dixie warehouse, a former Target, and the 153,000-square-foot Dairy Pak building off of 8th Avenue on Fort Worth’s Southside – 2.4 million square feet in Tarrant County. His first large building purchase was in 1996 – the 350,000-square-foot former Tandycrafts headquarters on Everman Parkway for $2.35 million.

But it’s the site at the old Levitz Furniture building on Camp Bowie Boulevard where Conti is on an absorbing mission much more important to him than converting old empty space into usable office or retail square footage.

So, it was more than a surprise when his mother couldn’t rouse Spencer for a dentist appointment when he was home for Thanksgiving break his freshman year from the University of Alabama.

Lee Anne Conti, a stay-at-home mom, found her healthy teen completely unresponsive, and they immediately went to the emergency room at Texas Health Resources. After several days of wondering if Spencer would survive, he was diagnosed with an infection that a team of doctors later could never identify. The infection left Spencer with an anoxic brain injury, complete paralysis and a dire future.

“The doctors said he may live, but he’s not going to walk or talk,” Lee Anne said. Spencer was unable to speak, eat without a feeding tube or move from the neck down. Options for longterm therapy in Fort Worth for such a condition were simply not available, so they took him to the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Memorial Hermann Research Center in Houston for three months to attempt a recovery.

This 144,000-square-foot building is now home to the Neurological Recovery Center, a rehabilitation and physical therapy center built from the ground up in the old Levitz’s shell by Conti. And it’s safe to say the transformation he wants there is way beyond a typical real estate redo. He has spent $5 million in developing a state-of-the-art, high-tech physical therapy rehab center for long-term patients of brain injury, stroke and spinal injury.

But the transformation he’s hoping for there is to get his 23-year-old son Spencer walking and moving on his own again. “In the near future, we are very hopeful for our son,” Conti said.

“I Was Asking God” Spencer, a graduate of Arlington Heights High School, was a social, active teenager who competed as a wrestler during junior high and high school. He also excelled outside of school in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was the textbook definition of health.

Not much progress was made there, and the Contis, faced with a daunting challenge few parents experience, looked to a higher being for answers.

“I was asking God, where do you want us to go; what do you want us to do?” Bruce Conti said. “It was then I turned to Lee Anne and said, ‘I think we’ve got to build a clinic in Fort Worth.’”

“Don’t Stop; Keep Him Moving” A TCU business graduate and industrial graphics manufacturer before he became a real estate developer, Conti knew nothing about physical therapy or brain injuries. But he dived into the research like a young intern studying for the medical boards, Lee Anne said, looking for the latest studies, high-tech equipment and clinical trials that could help bring his son back to physical health.

Conti first opened a boutique clinic for his one patient in 3,800 square feet at his former Target building on Interstate 30 and Cherry Lane in west Fort Worth. There he bought his first computerized LokomatPro machine from Switzerland-based Hocoma for $400,000 to help reteach Spencer to walk. The machine is designed to help patients placed in a harness replicate a walking pattern that can stimulate neuroplasticity in the brain and retrain the brain and spinal cord to work together.

“The best advice we got from the doctors was ‘Don’t stop,’” Lee Anne said. “Keep him moving.”

Bruce Conti speaks to a patient undergoing therapy.

Along with Spencer — who spends five hours a day, six days a week at the center going through a variety of therapies — other long-term rehab patients quickly discovered the high-tech facility. Within a matter of weeks, NRC had 10 patients. Then the floodgates started to open.

“We grew very quickly,” Conti said. “We were constantly getting calls from patients with strokes, cerebral palsy, brain injuries. We opened the clinic just for our son, but there clearly was a lot of need for such a clinic here.”

Outgrowing their original space, Conti moved the center last spring to the Levitz site. The space now houses nine Lokomats, a wide variety of other robotic equipment for shoulder, arm and hand rehab and vertical standing; a 60-foot, saltwater indoor pool for aqua therapy; hot yoga and neuromuscular massage service; acupuncture; and a new virtual reality space, where games like Fruit Ninja are helping patients reconnect neuro pathways for more mobility.

similar to that used by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We help patients who need way more therapy than a couple of hours a week for 10 weeks,” he said. “Most of our patients are pretty compromised. We developed a comprehensive program that includes everything. We may have some of our patients in excess of seven years.”

The new space on east Camp Bowie has increased NRC’s patient load to 143, with a waiting list of 33, Conti said.

Patients range in age from 7 to 91; some travel hundreds of miles for treatment. NRC takes a specific patient group who has low levels of mobility from stroke, spinal injury or brain injury. The center is focused on one-on-one physical therapy treatment for its patients and employs 32 doctors of physical therapy and physical therapy aides to do the job. That will increase to 50 employees this year, Conti said.

All the current patients on the other side of the clinic are covered at least in part by insurance except for 27, whom the clinic accepts on a pro bono basis. Even with insurance revenue, the clinic is losing money – $1.5 million last year, Conti said. Asked how long he can go on losing money, he gave a small smile and said, “A while.”

Along with the patients, the medical community is taking notice of the Neurological Recovery Center.

“In a visionary mindset, Bruce has set up the NRC to provide state-of-the-art care for patients,” said Nicoleta Bugnariu, physical therapist, a Ph.D., and interim dean of the School of Health Professionals at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

“The doctors said he may live, but he’s not going to walk or talk.”

– Lee Anne Conti

Veterans Clinic Up Next A new rehab space inside the center will open soon for disabled veterans where such issues as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will be treated along with long-term rehab resulting from injuries, Conti said. Some of the space, including the pool, virtual reality and robotic equipment will be shared with the general patient population, but the veteran side of the building will include a separate entrance, a lounge area with sofas and a pool table and an outdoor patio for just the vets.

Conti said the veteran clinic, a nonprofit 501(c)3, will accept veterans at no charge in an economic model based on donations

The clinic serves as a place for UNT student doctoral physical therapists to do their clinical rotation and later as an employer for a number of the DPTs upon graduation, Bugnariu said.

In addition, NRC is pushing its treatment options out further by positioning itself with UNT to be a research facility because of its equipment and longitudinal data from patient interactions, opening it up for clinical trials.

“Bruce and I had discussed and agreed to setting up a formal partnership for a patient registry that will be under UNTHSC Institutional Review Board and facilitate research,” Bugnariu said.

Their first collaboration, along with the University of TexasArlington Research Institute, is a research grant proposal for a soft robotic rehabilitation glove to facilitate motion therapy for the hand. The proposal includes developing a glove prototype and integrating virtual reality applications into the exercise program done with these gloves.

The soft robotic glove technology focuses on the rehabilitation of fine motor functions in the hand and looks to help patient

Bruce and Lee Anne Conti, with their son Spencer, who undergoes therapy daily.

The Neurological

Center has more than 140 patients and a waiting list of 33.

Recovery

Therapists work with Spencer Conti in the Neurological Recovery Center's pool.

Virtual reality is among the tools Bruce Conti has brought into the Neurological Recovery Center.

recovery in daily living activities such as grasping small objects, according to Muthu Wijesundara, Ph.D., principal research scientist and leader of the Biomedical Technologies Division at UTARI.

Therapy activities are designed both for patients with injury to their hands as well as stroke patients where the signal from the brain to the hand is disrupted, Wijesundara said.

“This will help patients maintain muscle tone in the hand and help establish new neural pathways from the brain to the hand,” he said.

Brian

Robotics are going to play a key role in physical therapy, in part because the patient population is growing rapidly, and the number of trained therapists will not be enough to accommodate their needs, Wijesundara said. Just as importantly, robotics can measure treatments and outcomes better than therapists alone, leading to better therapy outcomes, he said.

“Robotic equipment can collect data on patient performance and do analysis to customize protocols based on a patient’s condition,” he said. “With enough information on patient recovery, analysis can lead to the development of more effective therapy protocols.”

Wijusundara said his group works with other rehab centers in the area, but no one has the breadth and depth of robotic equipment found at NRC.

“It is unique compared to other clinics,” he said. “It has more rehabilitation robotic systems than any of the other places I have seen.”

Wood said Conti will remain the prime mover behind development of treatments at the center.

“He’s really an innovator,” Wood said. “He regularly sends me medical studies on treatments he’s read and asks my opinion. There’s not many people who can comprehend these studies as he is able. I feel like I’m speaking to a medical colleague.”

At the same time, Wood said that Conti’s background in business helps bring a different strength to developing such a clinic.

“Bruce’s business acumen exceeds by a very long shot those involved with most of these ventures,” Wood said.

In addition to development of its own virtual reality therapies, the center has plans to advance various facets of neurologic recovery with bold, multifaceted treatments, Wood said.  These include stem cell utilization, neuroimmunologic infusion (a treatment using the immune system) and other techniques that are cutting edge, in various stages of readiness to be deployed, Wood said.

“I was asking God, where do you want us to go? It was then I turned to Lee Anne and said, ‘I think we’ve got to build a clinic in Fort Worth.’”

- Bruce Conti

“He’s Really an Innovator” Such clinical trials are only the beginning of what Conti wants to explore for treatments, he said. To aid in that development, the NRC recently added a medical doctor, Brian Wood, M.D., a traumatic brain and spinal cord injury specialist at Rochester Regional Health in New York, to become NRC’s clinical director. Wood has experience in treating traumatic brain and spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as trauma rehabilitation.

“I have a strong background of physics, chemistry and mathematics in addition to being an MD,” Wood said. “I’m part engineer, part medical doctor, specializing in neurologic rehabilitation, so the center proved to be an ideal fit for me.”

“Bruce is committed to technological innovation in uncharted realms and, at the same time, is devoted to evidence-based practice and safety,” Wood said. “It’s definitely an exciting time to be at NRC.”

And he’s driven to improve the lives of his patients — but mostly his son.

“I feel great,” Spencer said at the end of one of his five-hour sessions recently at the center. Lee Anne said her son’s memory is better than her own now, and his verbal skills are almost back 100 percent.

Spencer’s favorite rehab is walking on the Lokomat with the virtual reality headset. His physical therapist said after three years of intense therapy, Spencer can now follow directions, speak and eat, and has improved tone, posture, trunk control and overall responses. His first meal eating on his own was from Whataburger.

Spencer has goals of his own – long term, he wants to start a family and work for his dad. And for the short term? “My immediate short-term goal is ASAP to walk again,” he said. “That would make my whole life a whole lot easier.”

It’s a goal Bruce and Lee Anne are developing, too.

Teresa McUsic is a Tarrant County freelance writer.

Wood, center, the Neurological Recovery Center's new medical director

8 Things to Know About Fort Worth’s Medical Innovation District SHINY NEW TOY

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD

FORT WORTH’S NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN, taking aim at weaknesses and highlighting strengths, recommends the city formally designate the Near Southside as a “medical innovation district,” taking advantage of its health care employment base, access to research and vibrant neighborhoods. The district would come with public investments

to augment walkability and pedestrian and broadband connectivity, and it could “fuel citywide growth,” the plan says. The chief new asset is the new TCU-UNTHSC School of Medicine, which will launch in 2019 with an inaugural class of 60 students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center on Fort Worth’s West Side, and is being billed as a vehicle that will address the region’s physician shortage, usher in new collaboration and research, and help the city draw the kinds of high-paying jobs and creative talent it craves. “For us, it’s just a continuation of what we’ve been doing for 20 years on the Southside,” Mike Brennan, new CEO of the Near Southside, Inc., economic development nonprofit, which the city has put in charge of developing the innovation district, says.

Brennan is identifying a working group that will take inventory of existing relationships, come up with ideas for new ones, and study

best practices in other cities. The working group will explore “gaps in the ecosystem” and “how can we work together to fill the gaps,” Brennan says. He sees the final product helping small companies find real estate within the district. The city is re-examining its economic development incentive policy, and the medical innovation district will be a part of that discussion. One thing: Don’t expect overnight returns. “By definition, these kinds of programs have a long-term return,” says Barclay Berdan, CEO of Texas Health Resources, the big hospital operator whose properties include Harris Methodist Fort Worth. “By definition, they will have a lot of fits and starts.” So, what does all this mean? Eight things to consider:

1The idea of an innovation district is amorphous – right now – but the med school is the new shiny toy. The team building the school, led by new dean

Stuart Flynn, is in an enviable position of being able to build it from scratch, not hidebound by institutional traditions. Students will be introduced to patients early on, learning how to empathize and communicate. That’s different from traditional medical education, which has slowly evolved two years of heavy science and lectures, followed by a year of clinical rotations, and a fourth year focused on finding a postgraduate residency program.

At TCU-UNTHSC, students will be introduced in year one to a small cohort of patients they’ll follow all four years. In year two, the students will spend 40 weeks in clinics – seven different clinics, a half-day per week per clinic – and be assigned physician mentors in each clinic. Health care has moved aggressively away from expensive hospital stays, but traditional medical training is stuck there. The TCU-UNTHSC has already lined up partnerships with hospitals in the region, but its model will push students well outside of hospitals.

“My training was almost entirely all in a hospital setting,” says Jacqueline Chadwick, vice dean of educational affairs and accreditation. “How much of medicine today is delivered in a hospital setting?” By taking training into the outpatient setting, “now I’m a much better-

prepared student, not only to understand medicine, but to figure out what kind of doctor I want to be.” The physicians will be paid stipends by the medical school, which has started recruiting docs. The third year, students will be able to explore their interests more deeply, spending several weeks in an area of their choosing. Students also will be required to complete a four-year research project. The die-hard hospitalcentric model of medical education was developed in 1910. Some med schools have broken out of it in recent years, but the gravitational pull of tradition has been difficult to overcome. “I can go to any other medical school in this country right now, and what I will inherit is basically the training model of 1910 with tweaks and twists,” says Flynn, most recently founding dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and previously professor of pathology and surgery at Yale University. The old model has produced great doctors, he says, but with less empathy and connection to patients than could be achieved.

2

Calling all docs; the new school needs a bunch.

The medical school needs physicians who will serve as the year-two mentors. “If it’s one student per physician, then it’s 60,” Chadwick says. “So, we need 60 family docs and 60 psychiatrists and 60 surgeons” and so on, across the seven disciplines. The medical school started recruiting this spring for those physicians. “We’re anticipating some physicians will want a couple of students, since it’s only a half day a week. Maybe they’d like a student on Monday morning and one on Thursday morning.”

The lure: “I think a lot of doctors just innately enjoy teaching,” she says. “If you’re a good doctor, you teach your patients. So, you want to turn around and give it to the next generation.” The prestige of a faculty

appointment and access to the med school’s resources are also draws, Chadwick said.

3

Texas’ doctor shortage: The new med school wants to help.

The new med school aims to help address Texas’ substantial physician shortage. Graduating TCU-UNTHSC medical students who do their multi-year residency – the next step in their medical education – in the region or around the state may be more likely to go on to practice in the same area. The school quotes statistics that say 85 percent of physicians who complete their residencies are likely to practice locally. Tarrant County currently has 250 residency slots, led by 200 at the county’s John Peter Smith Hospital.

“In this county, we have capacity for 500700 residency slots” beyond the 250, Flynn says. How this will be funded is unclear. The federal government pays for most resident salaries nationally, but Congress capped the number of residency slots it’s willing to fund in 1997, constraining the increase of residency slots in growing communities nationally. “We’ve been at

our cap for years,” Scott Rule, JPS’ vice president and chief of staff, says.

The federal law contains no provision for an expansion of local funding for residencies when a new med school opens. But hospitals that have never received federal funding for residencies can apply. After five years, the program is capped, and the hospital must fund additional slots. Medicare, Medicaid, state funds, and privately raised money are other possibilities. “We are working with all of our hospital partners to explore every solution,” Flynn said.

Residency slots are often less than the cost of recruiting a new physician, something the new med school is pointing out, given the shortage of doctors. “Nationally, those costs are estimated at $500,000 to $1 million each,” Flynn says.

Another, more important challenge: Whether a hospital can fold post-graduate training of new physicians into its culture. “It’s not something you can put your toe in and then decide it doesn’t work,” Berdan says. Texas Health Resources has 10 internal medicine residency slots in Dallas; its Fort Worth residency slots are owned by JPS. Cook Children’s in Fort Worth has long participated in clinical rotations for medical students and has committed to participating in the TCU-UNTHSC second-year teaching program, but it has long resisted residencies in favor of having its patients interacting with veteran doctors. Cook declined to be interviewed for this article.

4

TCU’s expected to become a feeder school for the new med school. That’s if national statistics hold up locally. “If you have an undergraduate feeder, a third of your class comes from that institution, one-third regional, and one-third elsewhere,” says Tara Cunningham, associate dean of admissions and student diversity. Many “students like to go to medical

TCU-UNTHSC School of Medicine Dean Stuart Flynn

school where they have support.”

5

The Phoenix Rises in Fort Worth – in case you haven’t noticed.

Fort Worth is now home to a rising number of ex-Phoenix educational and health care leaders who are now playing key roles in this region’s future: Kent Scribner, Fort Worth schools superintendent; Eugene Giovannini, Tarrant County College chancellor; and Flynn and a half-dozen deans who helped build the University of Arizona-Phoenix medical school and now have moved to the new school. The group is said to know each other, and they expect the relationships to facilitate collaborations in Fort Worth. For one, the new medical school this summer will run a camp for students at four Fort Worth ISD middle schools – Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Young Men’s Leadership Academy, J.P. Elder, and Stripling. In summer 2019, the junior high school program is expected to expand with the selection of a school in south Fort Worth and with a camp for students at the O.D. Wyatt and Northside high schools.

6 7

Camp Bowie isn’t the permanent home of the new med school.

The med school will open in about 60,000 square feet of space in a new tower UNTHSC is building on Camp Bowie Boulevard. That’s to be a temporary home. Are talks underway about a permanent home?

“Conversations are underway,” Flynn said. “They are conceptual.” Where might the permanent location be? “If you want to look at it logically, the Southside,” Flynn said, in the heart of the city’s health care hub. How much space is a question. “If you’re looking just educationally, 120,000 to 150,000 square feet,” he said. “That’s to build it and optimize virtual reality opportunities, to augment the training of telemedicine.” Faculty could train med students and residents in the same building, which would also facilitate "interprofessional" training with nursing, pharmacy, social work and business students, Flynn said.

How does John Peter Smith fit into all this?

JPS owns a lot of real estate, recently pur-

chased more, is rethinking its land uses, and would be an ideal home for the new med school, Rule, vice president and chief of staff, says. “I think it’d be a great site for the med school,” he said, looking at a map showing several blocks north of Rosedale Street and on the east side of South Main Street that the hospital purchased last year.

JPS, Tarrant County, and the county Commissioners Court have moved to the next stage of what’s been a lengthy conversation about the hospital’s needs and what could go into the package for the hospital district’s first bond election since 1985. Rule says JPS isn’t thinking about a building it could share with the new medical school. “We view them as separate,” he said. (Flynn declined to discuss specific sites.)

A citizens’ committee that studied the hospital district’s needs recently made several recommendations, based on estimates of population growth, the ongoing shift to outpatient care from hospitals, and JPS’ old and outdated facilities: four new community health centers; new outpatient surgery center on the main JPS campus; new JPS Center for Cancer Care relocated to or near the campus from an outdated location; new JPS main tower; and new behavioral health center that would consolidate operations now in the main tower and two other locations. Ideally, the new tower would go on the east side of South Main, putting all acute patient care – emergency, surgery, and trauma care – and support services on one side of South Main, Rule said. The tower would increase the number of beds and convert patient rooms to private, augmenting teaching and patient privacy, Rule said. “We know these facilities are no longer adequate for acute care,” Rule says. “It presents opportunities.”

Brennan of Near Southside would like to explore the possibility of JPS housing all of its needs on the property it owns south of Rosedale, with a

strong level of density, freeing the several blocks north of Rosedale for other use. “Can we fit all of their expansion needs south of Rosedale?” he says.

8

Are the naming rights for the new school in play? “Absolutely.”

Want to put your name on the new med school? Its leaders are looking for such a donor and have put out feelers to the usual suspects. “That is absolutely in play,” Flynn says. “I think a very fair, spirited dollar amount based on national norms is $100 million,” for the right to name the school in perpetuity. Prior to Flynn’s arrival, the TCU-UNTHSC leadership group offered the rights for $50 million to some number of potential donors, Flynn said. Those offers remain in place. “We can’t change the ante, so to speak,” he said. Assuming the medical school eventually moves to a permanent home, the naming rights for the building itself would go on the auction block, Flynn said. Interest in naming the new med school will likely heat up once the inaugural class is recruited and arrives, Flynn said, basing that on his experience in building the Phoenix school. “Once they arrive, it becomes real. And when it becomes real, then Fort Worth, who has already been phenomenal, will now see their little ducklings. There’s something very powerful to that.”

Mike Brennan, new CEO of Near Southside, Inc.

E

EUR PAUL DORMAN COULD D, BUT THERE’S THIS ONE THING: “THIS IS WHAT I DO FOR FUN,” CEO OF THE FORT WORTH BIOTECH FIRM DFB PHARMACEUTICALS, SAYS WITH A SMILE, NOT REALLY JOKING.

Dorman, a longtime pharma executive, quit his job at 42 and founded DFB with the purchase of a contract manufacturing plant owned by Alcon Laboratories. He grew sales 22 times to more than $400 million, then sold most of his units, realizing more than $2 billion in proceeds. He kept a few small pieces, including a company called Phyton Biotech that makes anticancer drugs.

Then in 2015, he founded a company called NanOlogy that’s developing a new way to administer chemotherapy: nanoparticles made of anti-cancer drugs, suspended in saline and injected like a shot directly into tumors. The nanoparticles wedge themselves into the tumor and reside there for weeks, killing cells for much longer than traditional intravenous treatment.

And because they’re in the tumor, don’t contain the toxic solvent used to dissolve chemo drugs before IV administration, and aren’t flowing through the blood system indiscriminately, the new delivery method allows injections at higher levels without side effects like hair loss and nausea, Dorman said.

At age 81, can he get this done in his lifetime? “I think we have a chance by the end of 2019-2020, to have some products in the marketplace,” Dorman says.

The nanoparticles are made of paclitaxel or docetaxel – decades-old chemotherapy drugs made by Phyton and already proven effective and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Paclitaxel has been sold under various brand names including Taxol. Results in human clinical trials on nanoparticle treatment have been encouraging, Dorman says.

“We’re developing some very interesting delivery technology; we’re seeing some very positive and surprising results that weren’t expected,” Dorman says. “We’re bringing in some experts right now to make sure that we understand what’s happening and the potential of what’s happening. But we’re all very excited about it. If we continue to have results we are seeing, there may be some opportunity for accelerated pathways approval with the FDA. It’s a little early, because it’s unprecedented to have this situation where the drug’s already approved. Additionally, we hope to show the FDA that, going into the tumor with a higher level of nanoparticles, we haven’t increased the side effects. In fact, we decrease the side effects.”

Additionally, the team – working with development and manufacturing groups in Germany, Canada, and Kansas and a

RACING FOR A CURE

Fort Worth biotech entrepreneur Paul Dorman’s been offered the opportunity to name the new TCU-UNTHSC medical school for $50 million. He’s interested. But first, he has to stop cancer.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD

California company that’s running the trials – is getting some “unexpected positive results” in how immune systems are responding. “We believe we’re getting some very positive reaction from the immune system to help the chemo drugs in killing the tumors,” Dorman says. “And that was surprising to us. We’re still developing an understanding of that.”

The group has been carrying out its work quietly. Dorman has taken on a significantly higher profile lately with his philanthropy, committing last year to paying the first-year tuition for the 60-student inaugural class of the new TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, opening next year in Fort Worth. The gift is estimated to total $3 to $4 million. Dorman is among prospective donors who’ve been offered the opportunity to name the new medical school for $50 million.

“I have an interest, a strong interest in this opportunity, but the immediate short-term commitment is just the firstyear tuition; I’m spending a considerable [amount] of my personal money on cancer research,” Dorman says, estimating he’s invested “tens of millions and growing” in animal and clinical trials.

“We have a large number of programs in animal and human clinical trials right now. That’s my first priority.”

How to commercialize if the FDA gives the green light? Dorman says he’s working on a different business model.

“In the past, I’ve built organizations, developed our own sales force, and developed internal managers and all of that,” he says. “That takes a lot of time. If this works the way we are thinking it’s going to, I think we have a duty to get it out into the people who need it, as quickly as possible. I think I’m going to do a different business model here. I’m going to sell or license to a larger company that already has a sales force

on a worldwide basis.”

Dorman, who’s lost friends to cancer, doesn’t expect the nanoparticle medication to be very expensive. “What we’re doing is taking one of the most widely used drugs in the world and making it into nanoparticles,” he says. “That’s a patented technology process, but it’s not an ultra-expensive process.” Patents have run out on paclitaxel and docetaxel -based products, and those drugs are in the market today as generics. “We’ll be positioned a little higher than those generics, but significantly less than the

“My father got involved in his own business, in essence was unable to help in the [college] tuition. He did the first year for me. I had to start working at night while I was going to school in the daytime.”

– Paul Dorman

immunotherapy drugs which everybody is excited about right now.”

As an engineering student at Tulane University in New Orleans, Dorman had to work his way through school because his father had just bought a business and was able to only pay his son’s first-year tuition. Dorman got a night job at an oilfield equipment business, which shifted some daytime work to night for its new employee. “I was really able to see the value of somebody helping somebody to help themselves,”

he says. Dorman earned his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, working a full-time job during the day and going to school at night and becoming fascinated by patent law.

At 42, working in management for Johnson & Johnson in Arlington and El Paso and, among other responsibilities, having relocated manufacturing plants for the company, he went off on his own, buying a plant in a third-party manufacturing plant in San Antonio owned by Alcon. Dorman used that company, which made topical skincare products for clients including the predecessor of the giant Galderma, as a launch pad for products in wound and skin care and other segments. Among the Fort Worth companies that Dorman launched, grew and sold: HealthPoint in wound care, Coria Laboratories in dermatological products, and DPT Pharmaceuticals.

Dorman had lined up a lender who agreed to finance his plant purchase. Then an investor offered better terms, Dorman says. “They wanted a warrant that allowed them to buy an equity interest in the future. I had a financial partner, a silent partner. That person has continued to be involved with me to the day, 28 years later.”

Dorman grew his business from the San Antonio plant’s $18 million in annual sales and 140 employees to more than $400 million and 1,800 employees. In 2008, he sold the dermatological business to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $90 million. In 2012, he sold the wound care business to Smith & Nephew for $780 million. The same year, he sold 70 percent of his original business – DPT Pharmaceuticals – for $180 million. And recently, he sold half of his 30 percent remaining stake in DPT for $950 million. “These are all good prices,” Dorman says.

After the sales, Dorman says he “was

thinking of retirement.” Phyton “wasn’t very large enough to sell,” he says. “I thought I could at least keep it for a while and find ways to grow it and then sell it later on. I kind of went into semiretirement for a brief period of time. That didn’t last very long.”

Dorman came across the nanoparticle technology, and he acquired the worldwide rights for oncology from its inventor. Phyton launched NanOlogy in 2015 and started doing tests with animals, and those results were very encouraging, Dorman says.

NanOlogy has largely completed a number of trials as part of the FDA’s three-phase approval process, showing safety and developing the dosage level in working with human subjects. It's moved onto the Phase 3 proof of efficacy and side effects, Dorman said. Phase 3 involves a large clinical trial where the product proves whether it’s effective. Generally, the entire process can take years. “The FDA has been very supportive,” Dorman says.

NanOlogy is into Phase 2 trials with prostate, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers; has finished animal work with lung and bladder cancer; recently began animal work on kidney cancer; and is working on metastasized skin cancers, Dorman said.

Direct injection of traditional chemotherapy has been tried before but not with pure, solid nanoparticles. “When we first started talking to the oncologists about going directly into the tumor, they said, ‘Well, we looked at injection of liquids years ago,’” Dorman said.

Using nanoparticles, the drug stays in the tumor for about a month, compared to up to 24 hours for IV chemotherapy, Dorman said. “As much as they put into the veins, only a small percent of that actually gets into the tumor,” he said. “The drug goes all over your body.”

DFB Pharmaceuticals Family Tree

Entrepreneur Paul Dorman founded DFB Pharmaceuticals in 1990 with the purchase of Dermatological Products of Texas from Alcon Laboratories. He and its principals have since sold several business units at sales prices totaling more than $2 billion.

DPT Laboratories

• Contract pharma development and manufacturing

• 2012: Sold majority interest to Renaissance Pharmaceuticals for $180 million, kept 30 percent. Recently sold half of that 30 percent for $950 million.

HealthPoint Biotherapeutics

• Leading pharmaceutical company in wound care products, founded 1992 by DFB

• 2012: Sold to Smith & Nephew as basis for Smith & Nephew’s biotherapeutics platform for $780 million

Coria Laboratories

• Dermatology company with a portfolio of drug and OTC products

• 1994: Founded as a division of HealthPoint, established as a separate company 2001

• 2008: Sold to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $90 million

HealthPoint Surgical

• Developed and commercialized a portfolio of surgical antisepsis technologies

• 2010-11: Licensed USA marketing rights for three product lines

• 2017: Established a startup in China

Phyton Biotech

• One of world's largest producers of paclitaxel and docetaxel generic anticancer drugs

NanOlogy

• Developing nanoparticle delivery method for chemotherapy drugs

NanOlogy is finding a “very minimal amount” of its nanoparticle drug leaks into the bloodstream. “It stays in the tumor for weeks, it starts acting like the cancer cells and starts migrating,” he says. “It may get into the lymphatic system, which is a positive thing, because that’s how the cancer spreads. It may impact the spread of the cancer. It has that potential.”

The team includes as many as eight employees in Fort Worth; US Biotest in California, running the clinical trials nationally; and a group from the University of Kansas. Phyton is manufacturing the active ingredients in Germany and Canada and shipping them to Kansas, where a company called CritiTech is converting the drug into nanoparticles. Phyton has secured patents, including ones on how to make the nanoparticles, their concept and shape. The nanoparticles are shaped like rods, Dorman said, so they don’t work their way out of the tumor. “We’re developing an extensive patent portfolio,” he said.

Even though his companies are privately owned, Dorman has long employed an outside board of directors, comprising mostly pharma executives. “If you want to do something and you can’t convince a learned group that this is something you should do, then you really ought to step back and question yourself,” he says.

Dorman sees other potential uses for nano technology, including a topical application to reduce wrinkles and even a topical insulin application beneath the tongue for diabetes patients. Dorman expects that would enable diabetes patients to avoid insulin shots.

“It’s very exciting, very exciting,” he says. “If it doesn’t work, we made the good try. But I don’t think it’s a question in anybody’s mind here that it works. It’s just how much better is it going to be than anything else.”

Who do you go to when your event needs to go to the next level?

You don’t need to look any further than Miller Pro-AVL / Eagle AVL.

Miller Pro-AVL is a national company with a local footprint, headed by owner Leslie Miller. For 26 years, Leslie and Miller Pro-AVL have been bringing the best in event production to audiences far and wide by providing audio, lighting , video, staging, and structures for events of all sizes.

Stellar Teamwork

Behind the scenes and behind the curtains, Miller Pro-AVL cultivates some of the best AV teams in the industry. “People don’t see all that goes on behind the scenes of a production company,” said Miller. “Handling logistics for thousands of items a week, along with staffing for multiple events per day, takes a great team of men and women to keep it all moving.”

It’s easy to give credit to the artists on the stage or even the operators at the equipment helm, but without a great team of people behind the scenes handling every aspect from logistics, rigging, repair, and design, the end results would not be possible.

The company had simple beginnings. This small “dirt road” company has now grown to a business that provides national and international support for various private events, festivals, tours, and corporate AV meetings. In addition, the company has branched out to manufacturing Omega Corps speaker products and Galaxy Case products, and recently began offering consulting services for various construction projects for music hosting venues.

Southern Roots

Leslie grew up just outside the small town of Marlow, Oklahoma, where she still resides and runs the corporate office for the business. “It’s really nice to be involved in a high-tech, fast-paced business, while I can still stare out my office window and watch cattle and deer grazing in the field, along with two pet longhorns named Wampanoag and Tigres,” says Miller.

Locating to Fort Worth allowed Miller Pro-AVL to take advantage of the bustling DFW metroplex, as well as reach all corners of the United States very quickly. Miller Pro-AVL is proud to be located in Fort Worth, Texas and looks forward to serving this exciting community for years to come.

Nurse anesthetist Jay Tydlaska,

with the video laryngoscope he and partner Amy Sheppard developed. Tydlaska and Sheppard recently sold their invention.

GONE TO MARKET

More companies from Fort Worth’s growing life sciences sector head to market with new products.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD

It was an interesting question, and one the co-founders of the Fort Worth life sciences company Eosera had been pondering. “I don’t know how people did this 30 years ago,” said Elyse Dickerson, CEO of Eosera, which a year ago launched its Earwax MD solution that dissolves stubborn earwax. Earwax MD is now for sale nationally in CVS stores and on Amazon and its own website, and the company this year is pushing out related products.

The web brought easy access to information, sales platforms, and cheap and targeted advertising. Used to be, “at Alcon, we could only buy the print or TV” advertising, Dickerson, who launched the company with fellow ex-Alcon veteran Joe Griffin, said. “As a young company, you can’t do that. We can target the people who are searching in earwax solutions and get in front of them for pennies.”

Eosera’s fast ascent has been somewhat unusual. But the company is among a number of Fort Worth-area life sciences startups that are coming to market with products and services.

Catching An Ear: Eosera Dickerson and Griffin decided on Earwax MD as their new company’s first product after hearing from physicians who said earwax was a persistent problem, with only ineffective solutions available on the market. In April

last year, they launched the product simultaneously on Amazon, on their website, and at the American Academy of Audiologists conference. A kit – a half-ounce bottle of solution and a rinsing bulb – costs $19.99 on a one-time purchase and is discounted on Amazon with a subscription. Eosera also sells a replacement bottle of the solution, without the bulb. In August, CVS took Earwax MD on in all of its 9,800 stores, after Dickerson had asked for a 4,500-store launch during a short meeting with a buyer at a retail conference. "Retailers that carry Earwax MD have seen about 18 percent growth in dollars and 13 percent growth in units in the ear care category," Dickerson said.

Eosera had a third-party manufacturer produce the batch for its launch and has since taken production in-house, opening a small office and production center off of West Seventh Street on Fort Worth’s Near West Side. The company has Amazon fulfill all orders so Eosera can offer free shipping. A surge in buys resulted in a two-week period early on when Eosera wasn’t able to move product. “We were down two weeks,” Dickerson says. Amazon, at Eosera’s prodding, “finally put up a pre-order button.”

The sales success has triggered a raft of new products, most of which Eosera wasn’t contemplating. A customer called into the company wanting to buy Earwax MD by the gallon. “We thought, what kind of ear takes a gallon of this stuff,” Dickerson says. It

turned out the caller was a veterinarian who was using Earwax MD on his canine patients; Eosera this summer will launch Earwax Pet. The one vet isn’t alone. “We have some local vets that are using it,” Dickerson says.

Eosera will launch EarItch MD on Amazon and in CVS stores in the fourth quarter, and Earpain MD in July on Amazon and in September in CVS. The itch treatment is meant to help people with allergies, dermatitis, or psoriasis. The pain treatment numbs nerves in the ear canal. Both ideas came up in conversations with physicians. “Our background is to ask the doctor what they want,” Griffin says. “We don’t try to create opportunities where they don’t exist.” Griffin, who ran clinical studies for Earwax MD so Eosera could back up its product with research, is designing clinical studies for the new itch and pain treatments.

timers for production, assembly, packing and shipping.

What’s next for Eosera, which raised $2.1 million over two rounds to launch the company: Getting into other retailers. Major retailers like to hold up payment on startups to protect themselves, Dickerson says. “I met with all the major retailers,” she says. “We turned down one national retailer because of the terms. They wanted to hold our money even longer. It would put us out of business. We expect within the next year, we’ll be in most of them,” nationally or regionally.

Scoping Opportunity: Magaw Medical Jay Tydlaska and Amy Sheppard, nurse anesthetists in a Fort Worth practice together, came up with the idea for a new business after Tydlaska had a routine surgery turn difficult when he couldn’t see to put a tube in a patient’s airway and couldn’t ventilate her. “The facility had a video laryngoscope,” Tydlaska says. “I’d never heard of the technology.”

In researching it, he found the product cost $20,000, and the hospital owned one. “They had it in a storage closet,” he says. “Being a tech guy, I knew there’s no reason they needed to be $20,000. We decided to develop our own. We thought, how hard could it be?”

More difficult than they thought, it turned out. “We didn’t know anything about business; we didn’t know anything about manufacturing,” Tydlaska says. Tydlaska and Sheppard incorporated in 2008. It took them four years to design, develop and bring the product to market in 2012. They self-funded an initial $100,000 and then ultimately raised another $3 million – $1 million from friends and family, $1 million through an SBA loan, and $1 million from a Michigan investor.

“We blew past $100,000,” Tydlaska says. “Fundraising is the worst part of it. When you go in front of investors, they flat out tell you you’re not going to be successful.” At one rocky pitch, a prospective investor told Sheppard that she and Tydlaska needed to visit TECH Fort Worth, the Fort Worth incubator run by entrepreneur Darlene Boudreaux, who built and ran her own contract pharma manufacturer before selling it. Boudreaux has nurtured numerous life sciences startups through the incubator.

Eosera also plans in August to launch WaxBlaster MD, a $29 higher-volume dispensing bottle, on Amazon and is talking to CVS about selling it, Dickerson said. Eosera has been sourcing the plastic parts for its kits from China, which took trial and error. For one, the caps didn’t fit on the first round. “Pretty much nothing was as expected,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson and Griffin launched Eosera just by themselves. Since then, they’ve hired four managers who handle marketing, operations, production and finance; a bookkeeper; and part-

Tydlaska and Sheppard developed a $3,300 unit – video display and laryngoscope with camera. Their laryngoscope simplifies the functions of competing units, Tydlaska says. The product works with a disposable sheath ($10) and one-time use guidewire ($5), which is where Tydlaska and Sheppard figure the biggest piece of the market is, given intubations occur an estimated 50 million times annually worldwide.

In December, the company’s assets were acquired for undisclosed terms, and Tydlaska and Sheppard agreed to stay on and run it. “We get royalties for sales,” Sheppard says. “And they don’t know airway,” Tydlaska says.

Eosera co-founders Elyse Dickerson and Joe Griffin, with their Earwax MD

Exact Diagnostics’ Exact Science

Richie Petronis was a political science major at Texas A&M, who subsequently earned an MBA from Tarleton State University. Jerry Boonyaratanakornkit is a biochemist who thought he’d “do something really big, like cure cancer.” The two met each other while working for a pharmaceuticals company that sold external controls to diagnostic laboratories for quality assurance of the tests the labs run. “I’m still in diagnostics,” Boonyaratanakornkit jokes.

The two left their former employer and started their own company, Exact Diagnostics, in 2015, believing they could produce a better product for the quality assurance market and provide better service. The company launched its first products in October 2015, focusing chiefly on molecular diagnostics and its clinical applications in infectious disease, oncology and other areas. Exact Diagnostics produces and sells samples of viruses that labs use to test their equipment.

“We focused on internal capability; we also focused on providing the absolute best customer service,” Petronis says. The company today has 15 employees and produces its products at labs at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, through UNTHSC’s partnership with the TECH Fort Worth incubator.

Petronis and Boonyaratanakornkit have built the company with no investors. The company would send free samples of its products to labs to help build goodwill and business. “We had a good product, and we had good service,” Petronis says.

Cleared Up: Nuvothera’s Prosoria Nuvothera is one of Fort Worth’s newest life sciences companies to move its first products to market in a nonprescription treatment system for psoriasis called Prosoria that it launched in February on Amazon and its own website. The 30-day supply is for sale at $79.95, but Nuvothera is offering it to first-time users at $39.95. “We want to take the risk out of trying,” CEO Art Clapp says.

The pricing is based on a subscription –Prosoria is meant to be a maintenance medication – but Nuvothera is flexible on how consumers can use the subscription. “You can change the frequency; it’s really easy to change the frequency,” Clapp says. “And you can pause it if you want to.”

on blogs, 30, 40, 50 percent of the time, they’re talking about home remedies,” says Clapp, who, six months before the launch, took Prosoria to bloggers to get the word out.

“We saw a lot of buzz,” Clapp says. “There’s a real need. We’re in the right place at the right time.”

Clapp raised more than $2 million to launch the company, including two convertible debt rounds and a third round, in which he converted the debt to equity.

Clapp has aggressively outsourced various functions, using the third-party manufacturer Swiss-American in Carrollton and the packaging partner Global Packaging Systems in north Fort Worth that assembles the three-piece kit for Amazon and the company’s website. “They work for Alcon and Galderma,” Clapp says. Global ships to Amazon, which handles all fulfillment for Prosora. Clapp also uses Schaefer Advertising Co. and the Social Factor agencies, both in Fort Worth, for advertising and social media, respectively.

“There’s a real need. We’re in the right place at the right time.”

– Art Clapp, Nuvothera

Clapp, a former Galderma executive who left the skincare products company to go out on his own, came up with the idea for Prosoria, based on the perceived ineffectiveness of current treatments on the market and lack of innovation. Some patients in the past have even resorted to radiation treatments. “If you go

“It’s great to have a very active team,” he says. “We have three people who are the brains of the company, but we have 30 people who are doing things outside the company. You’re sharing overhead. You’re using the best of the best. Everything’s high quality.”

What’s next for Nuvothera? Look at new products for conditions such as eczema, warts and toenail fungus, Clapp says. “Continue to launch additional products for derma conditions,” he says. “Focus on tough to treat.”

Richie Petronius and Jerry Boonyaratanakornkit, of Exact Diagnostics in Fort Worth

WHAT ARE THE FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN FORT WORTH?

Is your company a rising star in Greater Tarrant County?

• The company generated revenue by March 31, 2014

• The company generated at least $50,000 in revenue for 2014

• The company generated at least $1,500,000 in revenue for 2017

• The company is a privately held, for-profit organization

Go to fwtx.com/fwinc/fastest-growing-companies and provide general company and revenue information.

Application deadline is Monday, June 11

Applicants will be notified if they made the list by late June

The list will be published in the Sept/Oct issue of Fort Worth INC.

For questions, please contact Natasha Freimark at nfreimark@fwtexas.com.

FORT WORTH’S FINEST PHYSICIANS 2018

Checking out new physicians? Looking for a specialist? Here’s our 2018 Top Doctors list, 530 physicians who’ve been chosen among the region’s finest physicians, as voted on by their peers.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

FW Inc.’s sister publication, Fort Worth Magazine, annually publishes an online ballot for Fort Worth-area physicians to vote on who they think are the best physicians. We establish a minimum number of required votes to make it on our list, vet each doc through the Texas Medical Board for disciplinary history, and ask more than two dozen physicians to review our final list and make recommendations. The result is this year’s Top Docs.

The physicians who received the most votes in each category appear in boldface. We’ve highlighted physicians who’ve appeared on at least five, 10, and 15 of the Top Docs lists since our first one in 2001. Two physicians – infectious disease specialist Cheryl McDonald and orthopedic surgeon John Conway – have appeared on all 18 Top Doctors lists. Our notations may be useful to our readers as indicators of a physician’s longevity but should not be viewed as measures of quality of care.

ALLERGY/ IMMUNOLOGY

Susan Bailey *

Andrew Beaty *

John Fling *

James Haden *

Bob Lanier **

Rene A. Leon

Robert Rogers ***

Ali Shakouri

Millard Tierce

ANESTHESIOLOGY

Kathy Bajaj *

William Crampton

Katherine Hege *

Maulik Parikh

Rex Russell

Aaron Shiraz

BREAST SURGERY

Anita Chow *

Amy Gunter

Nabil Habash

Joseph Heyne *

Vaishali Kent

Jennifer Snow

CARDIO/THORACIC SURGERY

James Anderson, Jr. **

S.M. Reza “Ray” Khalafi **

Jeffrey Lin ***

Richard Vigness ***

CARDIOLOGY

Farhan Ali

Nina Asrani

Neeraj Badhey

Gurpreet Baweja

Paul Bhella

Sanjay Chamakura

Denzil D’Souza **

Todd Dewey

Vasillas Dimas

Matthew Dzurik

Scott Ewing *

Matt Fay

Timothy Hadden **

Randall Hall **

George James

Sandeep Kamath

George Khammar **

Darren Kumar

Vinit Lal

Amir Malik **

Justin Martin

Deval Mehta

Joe Ortenberg **

Ashesh Parikh

Amit Prasad *

Brendan Reagan

Alvaro Rios

Mo Sathyamoorthy

Steve Simpson

David Slife **

Kevin Theleman

Balaji Veerappan *

Venkatesan Vidi

Rajesh Vrushab

COLO/RECTAL SURGERY

Jason Allen *

Michael W. Bryan **

Clifton Cox *

Lori Gordon *

Glen Hooker ***

Augustine Lee *

Paul Senter ***

DERMATOLOGY

Amir Aboutalebi

Gabriela Blanco

Angela Bowers **

Grace Brown

Thomas Busick *

Basem Chaker

Holly DeBuys

Catherine Harrell

Boris Ioffe

Patrick Keehan *

Sreedevi Kodali

Stephen Maberry **

Diego Marra **

Scott Miller **

Saira Momin

Angela Moore

Laura Morris *

Ryan Pham

Betty Rajan *

Allison Readinger *

Steven Richardson

Robin Roberts **

Victoria Serralta *

Faith Stewart

Stephen Weiss

EMERGENCY CARE

Richard Dixon *

Curtis Johnson *

Terence McCarthy *

Elliott Trotter **

ENDOCRINOLOGY

Stefanie Addington

Chris Bajaj **

Christopher Hudak

Darren Lackan **

Imran Patel *

Anjanette Tan *

GASTROENTEROLOGY

Julian Armstrong

David Bass

Mike Bismar *

Balu Chandra

Adil Choudhary *

Virat Dave *

Thomas Dewar ***

Manjushree Gautam

Josh George **

Stevan Gonzalez

Kumar Gutta **

Chase Herdman *

Eric Hill

Jody Houston

Jeffrey Krieger

Stephen Lacey

Reema Lamba

David Levitan

Thomas Lyles

Carol Mallette

Muhammad Memon

Jeffrey Mills *

Susan Moster

Mark Murray *

James Nackley **

Bryan Ong

Christopher Ramos

Timothy Ritter

Syed Sadiq

Troy Schmidt

Joseph Shelton *

Jeffrey A. Smith

David Spady

Karen Steffer

Monte Troutman **

James Weber

Kenneth Yang *

Jay Yepuri *

GENERAL SURGERY

John Mark Bayouth *

John Birbari, Jr. *

L. Scott Bloemendal **

Harshal Broker *

Antonio Castaneda **

Mark Collins **

Ronny Ford

Wesley Marquart *

Robert Pollard *

Domingo Tan

GENERAL/FAMILY PRACTICE

Michael Ampelas

Basil Bernstein *

Kalan Bobbitt

Jason Brewington

John Bui

Jeff Bullard

Daniel Chadwick *

William Chambers

Todd Cowan *

Michael Dotti

William Drake *

David Dunn * Al Faigin

Triwanna Fisher-Wikoff

Daria Greer *

Alex Guevara

James Harvey **

Gregory Hoffman

Alfred Hulse *

David Jordan

— Justin Sisemore Top Attorney 2007-2017

Craig Kneten

Glenda Kremer

Shawn Kretzschmar *

Samuel Lee

Sarah Meredith

Cody Mihills **

John Moorhead

James A. Murphy *

Shawn Parsley

Garima Prasad

Marshall Robert

Matthew Stine *

Richard Stuntz *

GERIATRICS

Jennifer Arnouville *

Janice Knebl ***

Alvin Mathe

Chau Pham

Sarah Ross *

GYNECOLOGICAL ONCOLOGY

Noelle Cloven *

Kenneth Hancock ***

DeEtte Vasques *

GYNECOLOGY/ OBSTETRICS

Althea Alexis

Joan Bergstrom

Linda Bernstein

Laura Bradford **

Chandra Chellappan

Cynthia English *

Jamie Erwin

Noushin Firouzbakht *

Martha Guerra

Leslie Hardick

Pattyann Hardt *

Timothy Jones

Donna Kolar

Timothy Kremer

Beatrice Kutzler ***

Emily Maas

Heather Neville *

Manisha Parikh

Cynthia Robbins **

Larry Tatum **

Elisabeth Wagner *

Ruth Wiley *

Robert Zwernemann

HEMATOLOGY

Vikas Aurora

Kathleen Crowley ***

Lance Mandell **

Mary Skiba **

HOSPITALIST

Olutoyin Abitoye

John Darren Clark

Sreevani Gudiseva

Andy Le

Hetal Rana

Ramu Rangineni

Kara Sellers

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Daniel Barbaro ***

Nikhil Bhayani *

Cheryl McDonald ***

Priya Subramanian

Bryan Youree *

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Daud Ashai

Theresa Brown

Stephen Buksh

David Capper **

Charles Carlton *

Jinping Chai

Kelly Cunningham

Alan Davenport ***

Nettie Davidson

Craig Dearden ***

Sumeesh Dhawan

Wilder Diaz-Calderon

Frood Eelani *

Kevin Eldridge **

Stephanie Hiraki

Lalitha Jagadish

Allan Kelly **

Muhammad Khan

Jason Ledbetter **

Amber Lesley

Sandip Mehta

Beth Mewis **

Mohammad Mughal *

James Parker *

Gregory Phillips **

Morvarid Rezaie *

Mai Sharaf

Angelene Stewart

Ronald Stewart

Radhika Vayani

Basanti Vrushab

Angelo Vu

MATERNAL FETAL

MEDICINE/ PERINATOLOGY

April Bleich

Tracy Papa **

Bannie Tabor *

NEONATOLOGY

Jonathan Nedrelow *

Megan Schmidt

Terri Weinman **

NEPHROLOGY

Ira Epstein **

Abdul Hafeez *

Prasad Kannaeganti

Rubina Khan

David Martin

Geethanjali Ramamurthy

Daniel Richey

Dar Shah

Sandeep Shori *

NEUROLOGY

Yamini Chennu *

Charlece Hughes **

Sheri Hull

Kirit Shah

NEUROSURGERY

George Cravens **

Atif Haque *

Anthony Lee *

Ab Siadati *

ONCOLOGY

Cristi Aitelli

David Barrera *

Nicole Bartosh

Asad Dean **

Prasanthi Ganesa *

Sandeep Gill

Patrick Griffin

Henrik Illum

Shadan Mansoor **

Mabel Mardones

Mary Milam ***

Sanjay Oommen *

Ray Page **

Mrugesh Patel *

Vinaya Potluri **

Bibas Reddy *

Stephen Richey *

Robert Ruxer

Henry Xiong **

Robyn Young **

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Mark Alford **

Ron Barke *

Bradley Bowman

Mayli Davis *

Prashanthi Giridhar

Matthew Hammons

Amy Hong *

Jerry Hu **

Michael Hunt *

Aaleya Koreshi

Alan Norman *

Eric Packwood **

Hiren Parekh

Ann Ranelle *

Brian Ranelle ***

Harry Rosenthal, Jr. **

Oluwatosin Smith

Josh Zaffos

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

Cameron Atkinson

Gurpreet Bajaj *

Bret Beavers

Brad Benedict

Bruce Bollinger ***

Michael Boothby *

James Bothwell **

James Brezina

Stephen Brotherton **

James Burnett *

Curtis Bush

Ajai Cadambi ***

Paul Chong

John Conway ***

William Crawford

Thad Dean

Doug Dickson

Donald Dolce

Kerry Donegan *

Von Evans *

Kristen Fleager

Nathan Lesley *

Keith Louden

William Lowe

Jason Lowry

Joseph Milne *

Brian Ming

Jeffrey Moffett *

Ryan Mulligan

Arvind Nana *

Tim Niacaris

Steven Ogden *

Di Parks

Pat Peters **

Ted Peters **

Joseph Pollifrone *

Jay Pond *

Ryan Reardon *

Robert Reddix Jr.

Mayme Richie-Gillespie *

Frank Rodriguez *

Hugo Sanchez

Farooq Selod *

Steven Singleton *

Eric Stehly

Don Stewart *

John Thomas

Daniel Wagner

Russell Wagner **

Torrance Walker

Keith Watson ***

Brian Webb *

Eric Wieser *

Nathan Williams

Chris Wong

Mark Woolf *

Bobby Wroten *

Eric Wroten *

OTOLARYNGOLOGY

Sean Callahan

Ricardo Cristobal

Yadro Ducic ***

John Fewins, Jr. **

Peter Janicki

J. Bradley McIntyre *

Timothy Ragsdale

Jordan Rihani

Todd Samuelson **

Jesse Smith *

Andrew Vories

Jeremy Watkins *

PAIN MANAGEMENT

Harish Badhey

Trevor Kraus

Robert Menzies *

Christopher Pratt *

Steven Simmons *

PALLIATIVE CARE

Alvin Mathe **

PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIOLOGY

Napolean Burt

PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY

Kevin Wylie *

PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY

Fred Ghali **

Heather Volkman

PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY CARE

Jian Tong

Among Tarrant County residents aged 18 years and older in 2015, those with an annual household income less than $25,000 per year had higher prevalence rates of conditions/ risk factors like heart disease, high blood pressure and frequent mental distress compared to those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more.

SOURCE: TARRANT COUNTY BEHAVIOR RISK FACTOR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM, TARRANT COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, 2015

PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY

Sam Cantu

Nicholas Ogunmola *

Danny Rafati

PEDIATRIC HOSPITALIST

Devona Martin

Andrea Wadley

PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Suzanne Whitworth ***

PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGY

Lauren Cunningham

Michelle. Marcincuk **

Natalie Roberge

PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY

John Pfaff

PEDIATRICS

Diane Arnaout *

John Dalton **

Toyya Goodrich *

Lisa Guthrie *

Nusrath Habiba

Eriel Hayes *

Mark Jones **

Suzanne Kelley

Ramon Kinloch

Sarah Matches *

Brad Mercer **

Lisa A. Nash

Monica Pradhan

Joyce Rafati

Audrey Rogers ***

Tom Rogers **

Jenica Rose-Stine *

Jason Terk *

Ben Worsley *

PLASTIC/ RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY

Robert Anderson ***

Michael Bogdan

Steven Camp *

J. Martin English

Jonathan Heistein **

Emily Kirby

Kelly Kunkel ***

Jon Kurkjian *

Danielle Le Blanc **

Emily McLaughlin *

Max Pekarev

Larry Reaves ***

Vishnu Rumalla **

Louis Strock ***

PSYCHIATRY

Nanette Allison *

Helene Alphonso

Debra Atkisson *

Joseph Burkett *

Holly Cannon

Dustin DeMoss

Brian Dixon

Marija Djokovic

Gary Etter *

Elma Granado *

Sarah Hardy *

Jennifer Heath **

Jamie Huff

Cheryl Hurd *

Ashley Johnson *

Prema Manjunath *

Carol Nati **

Nekesha Oliphant

Chandrakant Patel

Alan Podawiltz **

Garrick Prejean

Douglas Segars *

Les Smith *

Erica Swicegood *

Ross Tatum **

Delwin Williams

Scott Winter **

PULMONOLOGY

Ade Agoro ***

According to the Surgeon General, social factors in the workplace can affect health. Discrimination, for example, can increase blood pressure, heart rate, and stress, as well as undermine self-esteem and self-efficacy.

SOURCE: NATIONAL PREVENTION COUNCIL, NATIONAL PREVENTION STRATEGY, WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OFFICE OF THE SURGEON GENERAL, 2011.

Hisham Bismar **

John Burk ***

Robert Cash *

John Hollingsworth

Madhuri Kamatham

Madhu Kollipara

Stuart McDonald **

John Pender *

James Siminski *

Shelby Sutton

RADIATION/ONCOLOGY

Jerry Barker Jr. **

Matthew Cavey **

Ajay Dubey

Kathleen Shide **

RADIOLOGY/ DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY

Stuart Aronson **

Jeffry Brace

Ron Gerstle

Rajesh Gogia

David Johnston *

Kim Kuo

Gregory Reese

REHABILITATION/ PHYSICAL MEDICINE

Todd Daniels *

Christine Huynh

Joseph Kay *

Lan Le *

Raul Llanos

Omar Selod **

Neha Shah

Christopher Tucker *

Austen Watkins

Michael Wimmer *

Faisel Zaman

REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY

Ravi Gada *

Robert Kaufmann **

Laura Lawrence *

Anna Nackley ***

RHEUMATOLOGY

Sonia Bajaj *

Emily Isaacs **

Rajni Kalagate

Rosy Rajbhandary

SPINE SURGERY

Michael Briseno

Michael F. Duffy *

Christopher Happ

Robert Myles

Jeff Phelps *

Jeffrey Ratusznik

Jason Tinley

Mark Wylie *

SPORTS MEDICINE

Greg Bratton *

Sarah Kennedy

Steven Meyers **

UROLOGY

Jeffrey Applewhite ***

John W. Johnson

Frank “Trey” Moore ***

Robert Stroud **

Scott Thurman **

Todd Young **

TheRegistry

Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

The doctor-patient relationship is one of life’s most important partnerships, and choosing the right practitioner can make a marked difference. To help you select a practitioner who will meet your needs, the following doctors want to tell you more about themselves, their practices and how partnering with them will improve the quality of your life.

The information in this section is provided by the advertisers and has not been independently verified by FW Inc.

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Fort Worth Heart, P.A.

SPECIALTY: Diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: All physicians are graduates of cardiology fellowship training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and are board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiovascular diseases. Other sub specialties include nuclear card iology, electrophysiology, echocardiography, vascular medicine and interventional cardiology. AWARDS/ HONORS: Fort Worth Heart members have distinguished themselves through academic achievements, performing clinical research and organizing educational conferences on cardiovascular diseases. They have held leadership positions in the Fort Worth medical community, such as chief of staff, chief of cardiology, chief of credentials, chief of internal

medicine and secretary of the cardiology division at local hospitals. Members have also served on the board of trustees of Fort Worth hospitals and regional healthcare systems and in community-oriented leadership positions such as president of the American Heart Association of Tarrant County. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: All the physicians are fellows of the American College of Cardiology or are eligible for fellowship, members of the Texas Medical Association and Tarrant County Medical Association. Other memberships include the Society of Coronary Angiography and Intervention and Heart Rhythm Society. HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: Texas Health Resources Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital; Baylor All Saints Medical Center; Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation; Texas Health Huguley Hospital; Texas Health Resources Harris

Methodist Southwest Hospital; Texas Health Harris Methodist Azle; Texas Health Specialty; Heart & Vascular Center of Fort Worth; Texas Health Resources Heart & Vascular Hospital, Arlington; Lake Granbury Medical Center; Kindred Southwest Hospital; Medical City Fort Worth Hospital. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Serving the Fort Worth community and surrounding area with comprehensive and compassionate cardiovascular care since 1951. INNOVATIONS: Full range of imaging services including PET scan, vascular ultrasound, SPECT scan, echocardiography, coumadin clinic and vein ablation clinic. Proficient in radial angiography and intervention. PICTURED: Louis Cristol, M.D.; Denzil D’Souza, M.D.; Alvaro Rios, M.D.; John V. Jayachandran, M.D.; L. Frank Liao, M.D.; Vijay Kalaria, M.D.; George James, M.D.; Deval Mehta, M.D.;

Burjonroppa,

Arun

Steve

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Sukesh

M.D.;

Simpson, M.D.; Amit Prasad, M.D.; Syed Nayyar Shah, M.D.;

Padala, M.D.; Sanjay Bhargava, M.D.

Allergy and Asthma Clinic of Fort Worth

James Haden, M.D., P.A.

SPECIALTY: Board certified in allergy and immunology, treating adult and pediatric patients.

HONORS: Consistently named a “Top Doc” in Fort Worth Magazine. Dr. Haden also has been frequently quoted in newspapers and has been featured on local and national news discussing the impact and control of allergies. PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY: Tailored, individualized care for allergies, asthma and related conditions. Treatment regimens are customized to the patient’s needs and lifestyle. Few conditions affect quality of life more than allergy-based symptoms, resulting in missed days of school and work, lost productivity due to distraction and misery, and fatigue due to the impact of allergies on quality of sleep. Allergies can impact almost every facet of a person’s life. Our practice empowers patients to take control of their symptoms. INNOVATIONS: RUSH immunotherapy. RUSH is a “jump start” to the allergy shot process that provides relief months faster than traditional allergy shots. CONDITIONS TREATED: Allergies (nasal and eye), asthma, food allergy, recurrent infections, sinusitis, headache, medication allergy, hives, chronic cough and many others. If you (or your child) have allergy symptoms, get evaluated and get help. You’ll be surprised what a difference it can make in your life.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

allergyfortworth.com

Diane

G. Blaising, Au.D., ADA, FAAA Cityview Audiology & Hearing Aids, Inc.

SPECIALTY: Audiology and hearing aid prescription and fitting. Expert advice in hearing aid product comparisons and technologies due to her 20-plus years of helping people hear better; tinnitus evaluation and treatment. Dizziness evaluation and treatment also available in our office with Dr. Heather Dean. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Doctor of Audiology, A.T. Still University for Health Sciences; M.S. Communication Disorders, UT Dallas, Callier Center for Communication Disorders. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Board Certified by American Board of Audiology; Fellow American Academy of Audiology; Academy of Doctors of Audiology; Member Christian Medical and Dental Association; Adjunct Faculty, Callier Center for Communication Disorders and University of North Texas. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: When a patient refers a family member or a friend into her care. INNOVATIONS: 1) Hearing aids can now treat tinnitus sufferers with custom programmed habituation programs that bring relief. 2) Hearing aids today are better than ever, and so small that they go unnoticed. 3) Dizziness can be evaluated and treated with our advanced balance testing by Dr. Heather Dean. PATIENT CARE: Blaising takes the time needed to listen to patients’ concerns and formulate a unique treatment plan for each one. FREE ADVICE: Cognitive Decline — Those with untreated hearing loss experience a 30-60 percent greater decline in thinking abilities compared to those without hearing loss.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

info@cityviewhearing.com cityviewhearing.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Michael A. Bogdan, MD, MBA, FACS

SPECIALTY: Cosmetic Plastic Surgery. EDUCATION: University of Maryland (BS Chemistry, BS Zoology); Stanford University School of Medicine (Doctor of Medicine); Stanford University (Plastic Surgery Residency); New York University IRPS (Cosmetic Surgery Fellowship); University of Texas (Master of Business Administration); Board Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery; Certificate of Advanced Education in Cosmetic Surgery. AWARDS/HONORS: Numerous “Best Doctors and Top Doctors” awards. MEMBERSHIPS: ASAPS, ASERF, ISAPS, ASPS, TSPS, Rhinoplasty Society. AFFILIATIONS: Texas Institute for Surgery; Methodist Southlake. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Being elected by my peers to lead two national associations whose mission is to educate board certified plastic surgeons who specialize in cosmetic plastic surgery, as well as advance the safety and effectiveness of cosmetic medicine. I am on the board of directors of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic

Surgery and the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation. INNOVATIONS: Through specialization, I am pleased to provide the most advanced techniques for facial rejuvenation and “mommy makeover” procedures. I utilize VECTRA 3-dimensional imaging to assist with operative planning for all patients. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: Because my practice is exclusively cosmetic surgery, I can take the time to individually care for every patient. FREE ADVICE: Only consider surgery if it can be performed safely – and be certain that you have a strong rapport with your surgeon.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

drmichaelbogdan.com info@drmichaelbogdan.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Carson Hearing Care

Robin Carson, Au.D.

EDUCATION: Master’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences and doctorate degree in Audiology. PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT: I love to inspire people to be the very best version of themselves and to deliver outstanding care with each patient that enters our doors. As a team, we have developed our core values and our mission statement. Fun, teamwork and continuous improvement are just of few of the values we embrace. People often tell me how much they enjoy coming to our office and how they feel like a part of our family. OUTSIDE OFFICE: I enjoy spending time with my husband Rod and our three children. We love to try new restaurants and to find a great patio to enjoy. Recently, our family and office have become involved in fostering dogs. The dogs occasionally come to the office and have been a fun addition to the Carson Hearing Care team.

GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Putting together an amazing team of people that all share one common goal, “to provide the best hearing health care experience in Fort Worth.” GREATEST PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT: My family. Being fortunate to have the support and love of my family. ADVICE: Slow and steady wins the race, and never settle for mediocrity. PICTURED: (left to right) Melinda Bronstad; Erich Gessling (fourth-year doctoral student); Robin Carson, Au.D. (Doctor of Audiology); Aimee Plummer; and Christie Plock (hearing healthcare specialist).

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Cornea Consultants of Texas

Aaleya Koreishi, M.D. and Patricia Ple-plakon, M.D.

SPECIALTY: Dr. Koreishi and Dr. Ple-plakon are fellowship-trained, board-certified ophthalmologists providing compassionate, cutting-edge specialty care in cornea transplantation, cataract, and refractive surgery. They are experienced in specialty lenses, laser cataract surgery, and LASIK surgery. They perform the only FDA-approved corneal crosslinking procedure for keratoconus (Avedro).

EDUCATION: Dr. Koreishi completed her B.S. and M.D. at University of Michigan, followed by ophthalmology residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and fellowship in Cornea, External Disease, and Refractive Surgery at the No. 1 ranked eye hospital, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Ple-plakon earned her B.A. at Rice University, followed by her M.D. and ophthalmology residency at University of Michigan, and fellowship in Cornea, External Disease, and Refractive Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. PATIENT CARE: Dr. Koreishi and Dr. Ple-plakon are committed to providing quality and state-of-the-art care in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. They believe patient education is the key to successful treatment and strive to educate their patients so that they can play a more active role in their treatment and recovery. Dr. Koreishi and Dr. Ple-plakon are humbled by the trust their patients put in them and honor that trust by providing the best care possible. The entire Cornea Consultants of Texas team strives to provide exceptional and individualized care to every patient.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

corneaconsultantstx.com

DFW Infectious Diseases, PLLC

Nikhil K. Bhayani, M.D., FIDSA

SPECIALTY: DFW Infectious Diseases is part of an integrated health care delivery system comprised of physicians, hospitals, case managers, community clinics, managed care partners, and other health care professionals, all of whom work together as a team to deliver the integrated care that is more effective to managing patient infections. MISSION: Our mission is to develop and maintain a patient care environment that enhances our ability to provide comprehensive care in a sensitive and caring setting. PHILOSOPHY: Our philosophy is to approach each patient as an individual, address his or her concerns through proper research and examination, effective and accurate diagnosis, proper treatments, early prevention, and up-to-date education. We constantly strive to significantly improve the health and quality of life of our patients, decrease the duration of illness and have more positive outcomes. PICTURED: Dr. Nikhil K. Bhayani.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

dfwid.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Richard T. Ethridge, M.D., Ph.D.

SPECIALTY: Board Certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, with a focus on cosmetic procedures of the breast, body and face. EDUCATION: B.A., Biochemistry, U.T., Austin; M.S. and Ph.D., Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, U.T. Medical Branch, Galveston; M.D., U.T. Medical Branch, Galveston. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Being board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). BEDSIDE MANNER: Our team of knowledgeable staff members provide excellent care to all of our patients. I perform each and every procedure from start to finish – from major surgeries to minor procedures. AFFILIATIONS: Fort Worth Surgery Center, Baylor Surgical Hospital. SERVICES OFFERED: Cosmetic procedures of the breast, body and face. Reconstruction after breast cancers and skin cancers. FREE ADVICE: Ensure that you find a plastic surgeon who is board certified by the ABPS and not someone who is operating outside of their scope of training.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Robert A. Kaufmann, M.D., HCLD

SPECIALTIES: Dr. Robert A. Kaufmann leads a dedicated team providing affordable and personalized treatment plans while staying on the cutting edge of technology. WHAT SETS HIM APART: Dr. Kaufmann pours his passion for patient care and considerable resources into helping couples achieve their dreams of starting or growing their families. Having gone through fertility treatments with his wife to have their two children, Dr. Kaufmann truly understands all aspects of the treatment process. TREATMENT OPTIONS: Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), donor egg and surrogacy; embryo, egg and sperm preservation. CERTIFICATIONS: Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. HONORS: Top Doc Fort Worth Magazine, 2005-2018; Best Doctors in America, 2003-2017; Texas Super Doctors, 2011-2017; Patient’s Choice Award, 2009-2017; Most Compassionate Doctor Award, 2009-2017; Top Doctors 360 West Magazine, 2017-2018.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

fwivf.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Emily J. Kirby, M.D. Kirby Plastic Surgery

SPECIALTY: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, adult and pediatric. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery; Pediatric and Craniofacial Plastic Surgery Fellowship; Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency, University of Kentucky; M.D., Texas A&M College of Medicine; B.S., Vanderbilt University, cum laude. AWARDS/HONORS: Chief of Plastic Surgery, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth; Allergan Plastic and Regenerative Medicine Physician Advisory Board 2017; “Top 500” Allergan Practice; Super Doctors Texas Rising Star, 2016, 2017; Fort Worth Magazine Top Doc, 2014-2018; RealSelf Top Doctor (top 10 percent).

GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: The ultimate compliment is caring for someone who later asks me to care for a family member or friend. INNOVATIONS: Two CoolSculpting units were recently added to our practice, with all of the newest applicators, providing faster, more effective “dual sculpting” for our patients. We now offer FemTouch vaginal rejuvenation treatment, which treats a multitude of female issues. Our expanded medical spa offers Kybella double chin reduction, Hydrafacial, Ultherapy skin tightening, laser skin treatments, laser hair removal and daily Botox/filler appointments. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: The relationship with your surgeon is a personal one. You should feel comfortable with her and trust her. You should like her and feel that all of your questions are being addressed.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

7250 Hawkins View Drive, Ste. 412 Fort Worth, Texas 76132

KirbyPlasticSurgery.com info@kirbyplasticsurgery.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Danielle Le Blanc, M.D.,

F.A.C.S.

SPECIALTY: Board Certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. EDUCATION: B.S., University of Texas at Austin; M.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical School; Residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. SPECIAL INTERESTS: Breast reconstruction featuring direct to implant and pre-pectoral breast reconstruction, revision reconstruction, breast augmentation, breast lift and body contouring, fat grafting and facial injectables. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Medical Association, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Texas Medical Association, Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons, Tarrant County Medical Society, Fort Worth Plastic Surgery Society. HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: Harris Methodist Fort Worth; Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center; Baylor

Surgical Hospital; Harris Outpatient Surgery Center; Texas Health Surgery Center Fort Worth Midtown. BEDSIDE MANNER: I offer a realistic female perspective and enjoy taking the time to develop a relationship with my patients in order to fully address their concerns and goals. DURING OFF HOURS: I find my joy in spending time with my husband and our 8-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. I also enjoy fly-fishing, hiking, traveling and photography. PHILOSOPHY: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Emily

B. McLaughlin, M.D., FACS

West Magnolia Plastic Surgery, P.A.

SPECIALTY: Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: The American Board of Plastic Surgery; the American Board of Surgery. AWARDS/HONORS: Fort Worth Business Health Care Heroes, 2017; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Community Advocate, 2017. MEMBERSHIPS: American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Fort Worth Plastic Surgery Society. HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: West Magnolia Surgery Center; Texas Health Resources Fort Worth Hospital. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: My experience with breast cancer gave me an enlightened perspective for my cosmetic and reconstructive patients. INNOVATIONS: West Magnolia Surgery Center and The Retreat Med Spa are part of my physical office. The capacity to be on-site for surgery and have medical spa services available to clients is tremendous. UNIQUE BEDSIDE MANNER: As the first female plastic surgeon in Fort Worth, I’ve been able to build a practice over the past 14 years with a focus on breast and body surgery from a female perspective. My style is very relaxed while maintaining a very professional, dedicated commitment to my patient’s safety and satisfaction. FREE ADVICE: Seek answers to your questions and don’t be afraid to question what you’re told.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

1200 West Magnolia Ave., Ste. 110 Fort Worth, Texas 76104

817.870.4833 mclaughlinmd.com emily@mclaughlinmd.com

Steven J. Meyers, M.D. Bone & Joint Clinic, Texas Healthcare Fort Worth

SPECIALTY: Non-Operative Sports Medicine and Regenerative Orthopedics. EDUCATION: B.A., University of Texas at Austin; M.D., University of Texas at Houston; Family Practice Residency, Baylor College of Medicine (board certified 2000); Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship, UT Southwestern. AWARDS/ HONORS: Fort Worth Magazine’s Top Docs, nine of the last 11 years; Fort Worth Business Press Health Care Hero, 2011; author of multiple peer-reviewed journal articles. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Throughout the course of my practice, I have pursued the most current and innovative non-operative orthopedic treatments available. Sometimes an injury or issue requires surgery, but most do not. INNOVATIONS: Regenerative Orthopedics is a new specialty that enables a patient to harness and amplify their own body’s ability to heal itself using concentrated regenerative cells and growth factors. I offer Stem Cell Therapy for arthritis and Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy for a variety of soft tissue injuries. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: My Regenerative Orthopedic therapies utilize stem cells and platelet rich plasma from my patients’ own bodies to help them recover from a variety of issues. These in-office procedures take less than two hours. FREE ADVICE: If you have an injury or are feeling pain in your body you’ve not experienced before, please don’t ignore it or “walk it off.” Most orthopedic conditions will get worse without timely treatment.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Pediatric Eye Specialists

SPECIALTY: Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: All doctors are board certified in ophthalmology and have completed approved fellowships in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus. AWARDS/HONORS: The doctors have been named as Fort Worth Magazine “Top Docs” on multiple occasions as well as being recognized as Texas Monthly “Super Docs,” as “Best Doctors” by D Magazine and 360 West Magazine. They lead the Ophthalmology Department at Cook Children’s Medical Center. HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: Cook Children’s Medical Center; all Texas Health Resources Hospitals in Tarrant County; Medical City Hospitals in Arlington, Alliance, Lewisville, Las Colinas and Plano; Baylor Hospitals All Saints, Irving, and Grapevine. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Creation of the Child Vision Center that provides world-class specialty and subspecialty eyecare along with diagnostic testing for all children in our region who require it. INNOVATIONS: Full

diagnostic lab dedicated to pediatric eyecare through the Child Vision Center. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: We provide world-class eyecare to all children and adults with strabismus in our region who need us, while informing and caring for their families through the course of treatment. PICTURED: (left to right) Michael Hunt, MD; Prashanthi Giridhar, MD; Alan Norman, MD; Eric Packwood, MD.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Retina Center of Texas

Jawad Qureshi, M.D.

Johnathan Warminski, M.D.

Kruti Dajee, M.D.

SPECIALTY: Retina Specialist; Board-Certified, Fellowship-Trained Ophthalmologists specializing in the most advanced treatments for medical and surgical diseases of the retina including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusions, retinal detachment, macular holes, and epiretinal membrane.

EDUCATION: They are honored to have had the opportunity to train at leading institutions for their ophthalmology training, including the Johns Hopkins Hospital Wilmer Eye Institute, Duke University Eye Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. PATIENT CARE: We believe the most important qualities of the doctor-patient relationship are communication, trust and compassion. As physicians, we should know more than our patients about their disease; our goal is to have them understand their disease at least as well as we do. With communication, we strive to educate our patients every day.

We are humbled by the trust our patients put in us and feel that trust is a strong foundation upon which our relationship is built. Finally, much of being a good physician is providing compassionate care to our patients. Our goal is to heal; often, that healing comes from soothing the mind or the heart through compassion. We advise our patients to take an active part in their treatment.

CONTACT INFORMATION: RetinaCenterTx.com

Southwest Sports and Spine Center

SPECIALTY: Pain Medicine and Sports Medicine. We diagnose and treat multiple types of conditions affecting the spine and musculoskeletal system.

EDUCATION: Steve Simmons, D.O.– B.S., Texas A&M University; D.O., University of Texas Health Science Center, TCCM; Fellowship, Pain and Sports Medicine, John Peter Smith Hospital. Robert Menzies, M.D. – B.S., University of California Irvine; M.A., University of Texas, Austin; M.D., University of Texas Houston; Fellowship, Pain Medicine and Sports Medicine, John Peter Smith Hospital. PATIENT CARE: We have been privileged to provide care to patients in the greater Tarrant County area for over a decade, first with the JPS Health Network and now in private practice. Serving as pain and sports medicine teaching faculty and having the resources of a large hospital training program for many years have provided us with experience in multiple advanced treatment options. MISSION: It is our goal to provide our patients

with the most current, minimally invasive, evidence-based treatment options available to reduce or eliminate pain, restore function and improve quality of life. PICTURED: Robert D. Menzies, M.D.; Steven L. Simmons, D.O.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

southwestsportsandspine.com

TheRegistry Leaders in Fort Worth’s Medical Industry

Matthew H. Steele, M.D. Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

SPECIALTY: Plastic Surgery. EDUCATION: B.S., M.D., University of Florida; Board Certified, American Board of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, LSU Health Sciences Center; Board Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine. AWARDS/HONORS: Top Doctor, Fort Worth Magazine, 2013-2016; RealSelf 100 Award; Exemplary Teacher Award, University of Florida, College of Medicine; Outstanding Young Alumnus, University of Florida Alumni Association. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: American Society of Plastic Surgeons; American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Being accepted into a prestigious accelerated medical school program at the University of Florida and teaching young residents and medical students at my alma mater. INNOVATIONS: We will offer virtual reality 3D breast imaging so that patients can get a more realistic visualization of their results after breast aug-

mentation. Additionally, Dr. Steele stays up to date on the latest, cutting-edge techniques for breast and body plastic surgery through journals and national meetings. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: Our team prides itself on providing an individualized, first-class experience. We take the time to build a trusting, collaborative relationship with each patient. FREE ADVICE: Always check for board certification and get a few opinions from several plastic surgeons. PICTURED: Matthew Steele, M.D.; Keri Steele; Isabella Steele and Samuel Steele.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

5656 Edwards Ranch Road, Ste. 202 (Opening late summer 2018) Fort Worth, Texas 76109

682.730.2891

Robin Carson

An audiologist working for years, Robin Carson decided to launch her own shop five years ago after a corporation bought her employer. The result: 26 percent sales growth last year.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD

Count Robin Carson in the ranks of accidental entrepreneurs. An audiologist for years, she’d always worked for someone else. And then one day, a large corporation bought her employer. “I didn’t want to go big,” she says. “I wanted to keep it personal, and I knew I would be lost in the shuffle in a big organization.” She decided to go out on her own, finding a location along Camp Bowie Boulevard on Fort Worth’s West Side, and signed a five-year lease before she wrote a business plan and “even knew how in the world I was going to pay for it.” That was five years ago in June. She’s added 800 square feet to her 1,200-square-foot office and added a second audiologist. Now with a team of four and 26 percent sales growth last year, Carson, who has an undergraduate degree in marketing and a doctorate in audiology, is looking for new ways to grow her Carson Hearing Care business. Next up: going mobile and visiting patients in their homes. “By the grace of God, it’s been a blessing and a whole lot to learn,” says Carson, a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Fort Worth. “Because I often joke that I’m a technician who had an entrepreneurial seizure.”

Getting started: “I had to come up with $125,000, was able to borrow money from my family, and paid back the loan within two and a half, three years. Really paid back the loan very quickly. My family has been a huge support. Nobody told me when I said I was going off on my own [and] that I was going to have the flexibility and autonomy and time with my kids, that was all BS.”

Growing: “We’re now at year 5 trying to figure out what do we do to reinvent ourselves. And so we’re adding different facets to our business, and one of them is going to be mobile hearing to get to our patients who can’t come to us. The new leg of our business

is called Carson Hearing Care at Home. And it will be everything we can do here; we can bring to your mother or your grandparents.”

Differentiation: “We do not charge for initial consultation. We do a full routine diagnostic hearing evaluation, and then we decide, is this someone who needs to go to an ear, nose and throat physician for help, or is this somebody I can help hear better through technology and amplification or hearing aids? When the approach is amplification and that’s what we recommend, we then fit the devices and work lifetime care and maintenance. We see people at least a minimum of every six months for

as long as both may live. You’re not going to get that care at a big franchise who’s really just running things as a retail business and not a relational one. I think patients would say it’s a lot of fun to come here; we do weird things you wouldn’t expect, like foster dogs. I also have the flexibility to choose any manufacturer. I’m not in bed with any one manufacturer.”

Changing customer: “We focus on the adult population, which would be 55 and older, I would say. In the 20 years I’ve been doing it, the market’s shifted from being, say, 75 and older, to now more of the baby boomer population that’s grown up with more noise exposure

and more issues with their ears.”

Changing technology: “Hearing aid technology is crazy. It’s constantly changing, improving. Higher quality, better directional microphone and better Bluetooth capability. Better connectivity to the world around you, whether that’s connecting to your television, streaming music through your hearing aid, or answering your phone call. I should say, I wear hearing aids myself, so I have this first-hand passionate, driven curiosity about trying different technologies. And never putting technology on a person that I’ve never worn myself.”

Barrier – No Insur-

ance: “Maybe 15-20 percent of people have coverage. Eighty percent of people are completely on their own. Hearing aids can cost $2,000, to $6,600.”

Working with doctors: “One thing doctors do is overlook our ears. They’ll say get your eyes checked, get your skin checked, get your colonoscopy, get your mammogram, but no one says you should get a baseline audiogram. Our push in the community is to educate the doctors [that] this should be something they say routinely. We’ll support that effort by doing the audiogram and sending you the results. It is kind of a misunderstood and overlooked part of our anatomy.”

Jamey Ice, 6th Ave Homes

Jamey Ice and his partner, Jimmy Williams, never considered themselves businessmen. That’s until they turned their houseflipping venture into a full-service real estate brokerage and construction company.

BY JASON FORREST Forrest Performance Group

Running toward the roar is nothing new to Jamey Ice. In fact, you could say he thrives off of those moments when the entire outcome seems in doubt.

Ice, a Fort Worth lifer, felt that risk when he played with his touring band, Green River Ordinance, during his first couple years of marriage. Living off $1,100 a month at first was a risk he not only was willing to take, but one he says in hindsight he “loved.” He felt the risk when he and co-founder Jimmy Williams started their company, 6th Ave Homes, geared toward sprucing up and flipping homes south of downtown Fort Worth.

But there was no risk quite like the one the company took in 2016. Williams and Ice are both avowed home renovators, and they staked their early reputations on the fact that they could take something old and make it shine. But by their own admission, they weren’t businessmen, or at least not in the classical definition.

That’s why 2016 was such a runtoward-the-roar moment. They turned their flipping business into a full-service buying and renovating company. They went from personally renovating houses to buying and selling them, too. Today, they have more than a dozen real estate agents — the company calls them “guides” — brokers, a loan consultant, a contractor team and an in-house design team as well.

Now, 6th Ave Homes can buy (or sell) a house for you, design it from scratch and then renovate it to your exact specifications. It’s truly a one-stop shop for a bourgeoning market increasingly demanding fixer-upper-style customized homes.

But the first steps of turning the company from a project between friends to a full-fledged business encompassing more and more employees was, admit-

tedly, a run toward the roar.

“That was a scary thing,” Ice says. “We had never done that. We knew a lot about transforming a house. We knew a lot of selling and investing in houses and helping families. But we didn’t know how to do that public side of it. I feel like we’re still figuring out that public side of it.

“That was a scary moment when we said, ‘Let’s do that,’ but I think if you’re intentional with your ‘why’ — what is it going to look like, why are we doing this — then your ‘how’ is always going to change. We’ve always had the mentality that we’ll figure out the ‘how’ as we go, as long as we’re true to who we are at our core.”

Sometimes the safest place to be is the one that feels the scariest. Lions — with their intimidating teeth and deafening roars — are designed to provoke fear. But the real danger lies with the smaller, quieter lionesses. In the animal kingdom, the lion’s job is to roar and send prey scattering away from the startling noise — right into the path of the waiting lionesses, the true hunters. The roar doesn’t represent the real danger.

Likewise, humans sometimes have an instinctive desire to shy away from pursuits that look and sound scary. But often, running toward those challenges and conflicts is the best (or only) way to grow and meet our goals. In business, those who run from the deafening noise never reach their full potential, while those who turn and face the fear thrive.

For Ice, following that roar was a nobrainer. After all, he’d been doing it his entire life.

“There’s freedom in knowing you’re going to be OK no matter what happens,” Ice says. “And that frees you to run towards the roar and take some of those risks.”

Another unknown was simply going through the hiring process as they

expanded into the real estate market. The first time Ice readied himself to sit down for an interview to hire new people, he realized he’d never done one before — from either side of the table.

“I’ve never had a real job in my entire life,” Ice says. “I’d never been in an interview. I don’t have a resume. I’ve never had a resume. I remember I had an interview with potential people who wanted to come work for us, and I’m like calling friends saying, ‘What do you do in an interview?’ But again, you figure those things out as you go.”

Today, 6th Ave Homes continues its wild expansion. They recently bought and restored an abandoned Main Street warehouse in Fort Worth and turned it into an events venue and a blank canvas for local shops and eateries. They’re also looking into starting an in-house mortgage arm to help shepherd their buyers through the process with even more certainty and clarity.

It’s another risk, but that shouldn’t

surprise anyone at this point. Ice’s vision for the company is to continue to run toward those roars so they can continue their exponential growth of the last few years.

“You never meet a successful person who hasn’t lost big at some point in their lives,” Ice says. “It’s rare to meet someone who played it safe who had lots of success. Risk and success sort of go hand in hand.”

And Ice wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jason Forrest is CEO and chief culture officer at Forrest Performance Group in Fort Worth. With more than a decade of coaching and speaking experience, Jason is a leading authority in culture change and an expert at creating high-performance work cultures through corporate training programs. He writes this column for each issue of FW Inc.

The Rising: Texas Energy’s Outlook

Oil and gas production, use of oilfield equipment, and jobs and employee hours were all on the rise in the first quarter.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

“Labor market indices continue to point to rising employment and employee hours, with job growth primarily driven by oilfield services firms.”

– Dallas Fed Energy Survey,

first quarter

Texas’ energy sector continues to improve, according to the Federal Reserve Bank Dallas’ first-quarter Energy Survey.

Oil and gas production and use of oilfield equipment showed improvements, and jobs and employee hours grew.

The survey’s business activity index — the survey’s broadest measure of conditions facing energy firms in the Fed’s Eleventh District — grew to 40.7 percent in the first quarter from 38.1 in the fourth. That was driven, the Fed said, by oilfield services. Positive readings in the survey generally indicate expansion, while readings below zero indicate contraction. “Almost all indexes in the latest survey reflected expansion on a quarterly basis,” the Fed Bank Dallas said.

Oil and gas production increased for the sixth straight quarter, according to executives at exploration and production firms, the survey said. “The oil production index ticked up slightly from 33.7 in the fourth quarter to 34.3 in the first. Meanwhile, the natural gas production index edged down from 26.6 to 25.0.”

Utilization of oilfield equipment “increased at a faster pace than in the fourth quarter, with the corresponding index at 40.4, up 11 points,” the survey said. “The index of input costs jumped from 30.9 to 46.8, suggesting greater cost pressures. The index of prices received for oilfield services rose more modestly, from 22.6 to 27.9.”

On the labor side, indexes “continue to point to rising employment and employee hours, with job growth primarily driven by oilfield services firms,” the survey said. “The employment index was 37.1 for services firms versus 9.0 for E&P firms. The employee hours indexes also showed a large gap: 41.9 for services firms versus 16.9 for E&P

firms. The aggregate wages and benefits index advanced from 25.5 to 33.8, with most of the increase coming from the oilfield services side of the industry.”

The company outlook index posted its eighth straight positive reading but fell nine points to 43.2 in the first quarter. “Uncertainty regarding firms’ outlooks was roughly unchanged this quarter,” the survey said.

On average, survey respondents expected West Texas Intermediate oil prices to be $63.07 per barrel by year-end 2018, with responses ranging from $45 to $77 per barrel. Crude spot prices averaged $62.72 per barrel during the March 14-22 survey period, with 140 firms responding to the survey, the Fed said. Of the respondents, 78 were exploration and production firms, and 62 were oilfield services firms.

What’s Your Story?

Commercial real estate is at Fort Worth’s front door and will be critical to telling the city’s story as we try to capture higher and better relocations and development. our economic development, and think about robust and innovative transit solutions.

BY KAREN VERMAIRE FOX Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth

Historic Funkytown Legendary Cowtown

Cowboys and Culture Innovative Trains and Planes

What do all these words describe? Most of us would agree they describe some part of Fort Worth – and we love to debate, discuss and dialogue on them. What do we want to be known for, and how do we want to attract people to Fort Worth?

We are, after all, two-thirds of DFW. And we love that we are the fastest growing city in America. Did you know we are the 16th largest city in the United States?

Did you also know most people outside of Fort Worth think we are about the 44th largest city?

Given all the new plans we have –the City of Fort Worth’s Economic

Development Plan, the Chamber of Commerce’s new strategic plan and the plan from the visitors bureau now known as Visit Fort Worth – it is time to pull our resources together. We need a new strategy and direction to make sure all the things we love about Fort Worth continue to grow and prosper. No one wants to become a bedroom community of Frisco.

We need to be able to tell our story as we grow our small businesses and our big-thinking entrepreneurs, look to bring in new Fortune 1000 companies to Fort Worth, strive to create a new medical innovation district complete with our own medical school, work to improve our public schools and impact

What are the words that describe who we are? Those words are important –they tell the story of our past, one of which we are inherently proud. We love the legacy given to us by Amon Carter, the Swift and Armour plant, Van Cliburn and Camp Bowie.

But we also need to identify the words of the future. Who are the people most likely to come to Fort Worth – to visit or to live? What’s our story when it comes to the arts, to our culture and heritage, to the rodeo, to innovation? There are great things happening here, and it’s time to tell the story.

And that is what we are working on!

Over the next few months, we will be reaching to folks far and wide who have a vested interest in telling the story of Fort Worth. We will be gathering thoughts and ideas to create a cohesive story that embraces all our residents and talks about this amazing place we call home.

Think about your story. Think about the words and the ideas that keep our legendary heritage alive but embraces the progressive future we want to find for our children and their children. Write it down and get ready to share it. We are looking to hear from you!

Karen Vermaire Fox is executive director of the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, which writes this column for each issue of FW Inc.

TEXAS HEALTH CARE FORT WORTH

Eight Top Docs. One Exceptional Orthopedic Clinic.

When an injury or orthopedic condition takes you out, your entire life can be put on hold. Established in 1958, we are the oldest and most established orthopedic clinic in Fort Worth. Our patients are as diverse as the conditions we treat—from finely tuned athletes to everyday people who have benefited from both surgical and non-surgical solutions. Our team of highly specialized and experienced orthopedic physicians also work hand-in-hand with our integrated Physical Therapy clinic, maximizing your results and minimizing your down time. And, with the latest orthopedic treatments available such as stem cell therapy and minimally invasive joint replacement, you can trust Texas Health Care’s Bone & Joint Clinic for all of your family’s orthopedic care. We’re here to help you reach for your stars. Call us today for an

Donald Dolce, M.D., Robert N. Reddix, Jr., M.D., William Lowe, M.D., James Brezina, Jr., M.D., Steven J. Meyers, M.D., Stephen L. Brotherton, M.D., Joseph C. Milne, M.D., Torrance A. Walker, M.D.

A Stroke in Time

Significantly longer windows for treatment after initial stroke symptoms make it much more likely patients’ lives can be saved, but awareness is critical.

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

Dr. George Cravens has been spending a lot of time talking up stroke awareness.

May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and just last year, studies showed that a critical treatment for stroke patients is effective as far as 24 hours from onset of symptoms, three times longer than previously thought.

“We want to push this out,” Cravens, who recently gave a talk to personnel at MedStar, Fort Worth’s ambulance service, said recently in an interview at his downtown Fort Worth offices. “We’re trying to push up the standard of care.”

Why people should listen, Cravens

says: “It’s dollars and cents, productivity. It’s huge; it’s devastating.”

Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year, according to the American Stroke Association. Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 130,000 people a year, and it’s a leading cause of long-term disability and the leading preventable cause, the association says.

the victims. More women than men have strokes, partly because women live longer, the stroke association says. “And younger people have strokes, too,” Cravens says.

An estimated 87 percent of strokes are caused when a clot or mass blocks a blood vessel, cutting off flow to part of the brain, according to the association.

That means if you’re out to dinner with friends, and you witness potential symptoms, such as face drooping, changes in speech, or weakness in an arm, “it’s not, ‘Are you OK?’ ” Cravens says. “It’s call 911. You just probably saved someone’s life.”

Stroke treatments have advanced at a rapid pace over the last number of years, first with a drug called tPA, which, if administered within three to 4.5 hours of a stroke, can dissolve a clot.

Then another tool, a clot-removal procedure called thrombectomy, emerged, with a recommended four-hour window after symptoms. Subsequent studies widened that window to eight hours and, finally, last year, 24 hours. Eight hours “changed the game,” Cravens says. Twenty-four was an even bigger advance.

“The majority of strokes occur when people are asleep and don’t show symptoms until they awaken,” says Cravens, a member of the Texas governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Committee.

“You’re now able to treat a huge increase in the number of patients.”

“It’s dollars and cents, productivity. It’s huge.

– Dr. George Cravens, Fort Worth neurosurgeon

Stereotypically, older people are chiefly

The broader window for the treatments also makes it more likely that rural patients can be airlifted to metropolitan comprehensive stroke centers in time, Cravens says. “They’re all bunched in the major cities; so, what do you do with those patients who are out in the rural areas? You get them to that place, and they do a CT scan, and they can CareFlite that person.”

Fort Worth’s Wins to Open 2018

City starts the year with economic development victories expected to create more than 300 jobs.

BY BRANDOM GENGELBACH

Vice President of Economic Development

Fort Worth barreled into 2018 with substantial first-quarter wins on the economic development front that stand to create more than 300 jobs.

Leveraged with Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce resources, projects gained momentum with a range of incentives from partners that included the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Tarrant County Hospital District, the City of Haslet and the Texas Enterprise Fund.

NT Window Inc.

NT Window Inc. headlined January with an announcement of expansion plans that will move the company from an unincorporated site in south Tarrant County to an underserved area within Fort Worth city limits, where it will generate new tax revenue, jobs and capital investment.

The manufacturer of vinyl replacement windows will invest at least $5.6 million in renovating the former S&H Green Stamp building and its campus on West Seminary Drive for a new manufacturing facility. The structure, built in 1958, has been vacant for six years.

Founded in Fort Worth in 1990, NT Window Inc. plans to add 30 central city jobs to its 130-employee workforce that earns an average of $18.33 per hour. NT Window’s expansion has the potential to create up to 175 jobs.

A six-year, $660,000 incentives package from the City of Fort Worth will help the

company resurrect the site with improvements needed to meet requirements such as current energy code and fire lane/storm water standards.

ATAC

In February, Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. announced plans to soon open a massive hangar facility at Alliance Airport where it leases about 185,000 square feet of warehouse space for maintenance, repair and overhaul of supersonic and subsonic aircraft in which it trains military aviators. For 20 years, ATAC, based in Newport News, Virginia, has trained U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army aviators, air and ship crews and combat controllers in air-to-ship, air-toair, and air-to-ground operations. ATAC is the only civilian organization approved to train aviators at the Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School known as TOPGUN and the USAF's F-22 Raptor fighter pilots.

The Adversary Center of Excellence at Alliance Airport stands to add 200 personnel to its 100-employee base by 2020. The company is part of the Textron family, which includes Bell Helicopter.

Smith & Nephew

In March, London-based medical technology giant Smith & Nephew, a global leader in advanced wound management, announced a $29 million expansion at its Vickery Boulevard facility that by 2022 will add 100 high-quality jobs for local scientists, engineers and technicians, according to Matt Stober, president of global operations. Average salaries will exceed $46,000. The development exemplifies how

continued growth in Fort Worth’s resilient health care employment has avoided cyclical patterns.

Smith & Nephew’s local workforce already stands at 200 employees. The company pledged to hire central city residents for at least 30 percent of the new jobs.

The expansion will involve an investment of at least $4.7 million in construction costs, $21 million in new business personal property. (This is Smith & Nephew’s second expansion in Fort Worth. In 2015, the company selected a site in Clearfork’s Cassco development for U.S. headquarters of its Advanced Wound Management division.)

With a five-year City of Fort Worth taxabatement incentive and $730,000 from the Texas Enterprise Fund, Smith & Nephew’s expansion will allow the company to increase manufacturing capabilities and assume full control of the filling and finishing processes for some of its medical products.

This was an important victory for Fort Worth against competitors in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Hull, England, and it’s an exact fit with Fort Worth’s commitment to helping grow the medical and life sciences sector – a top priority identified in the City of Fort Worth’s Economic Development Strategic Plan.

The plan identified our health care sector as one of Fort Worth’s strongest assets.

As the plan urges: “Opportunities created by Fort Worth’s large concentration of health care employment, life sciences firms, and the newly established TCU UNTHSC School of Medicine should be aggressively pursued.” That’s happening, given 2018’s first-quarter results. And there’s more to come.

Brandom Gengelbach is executive vice president of economic development for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. He writes this column for each issue of FW Inc.

Executive

Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce

POWER DINING HOT SPOTS

Close your next deal at one of these business-friendly bistros

Meso Maya Comida Y Copas

Tanglewood, 3050 S. Hulen St., Ste. A, 682.316.8266

Downtown Fort Worth, 604 Main St., Ste. 100, 469.348.0127 MesoMaya.com

Since 2011, Meso Maya has offered authentic Mexican dishes to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Led by Executive Chef Nico Sanchez, the menu is an homage to Mexican and Mayan food, techniques and methods. Meso Maya has two Fort Worth locations — Tanglewood and Downtown Fort Worth.

Meso Maya Comida Y Copas

Brunch

Voted “Best Regional Mexican Cuisine” and “Best Brunch” by D Magazine readers, both Meso Maya locations serve Brunch on Saturday and Sunday, featuring dishes such as Mexican Toast and the Croque Señor. Enjoy a $3 Bloody Mary, Sangria or Mimosa while you treat yourself to their Brunch menu.

Meso Maya Comida Y Copas

Happy Hour & Lunch

Both locations are open for weekday Lunch and Happy Hour — offering a $12 Lonche Especial and $5 Happy Hour food and drink specials. These specials include house margaritas, wine, wells, select beer, queso and guacamole. Relax on the patio at Tanglewood or unwind Downtown in the Kress Building.

Meso

Maya Comida Y Copas

Private Dining

Embark on a culinary adventure into the fresh, bold and earthy flavors of authentic interior Mexico with family and friends as you dine in Meso Maya’s private dining spaces. Our Fort Worth locations are available to cater to your private dining needs from business lunches to anniversaries and more. Call 214-336-2775 for more information.

Preventing Harassment in the Workplace

Don’t have any complaints in your office? Don’t pat yourself on the back. Most people who believe they’re victims of sexual harassment in the workplace don’t report it.

BY VIANEI LOPEZ BRAUN Shareholder Decker Jones, P.C.

“Businesses should be alert for red flags, like low morale, high turnover, or gossip about how someone is behaving. Comments like ‘ignore her, she’s just inappropriate’ or ‘boys will be boys’ are warning signs.”

Suddenly, everyone is talking about sexual harassment in the workplace. Hollywood moguls, television personalities and corporate titans are being held accountable, as the #MeToo movement continues to build. A Washington Post/ABC poll found 64 percent of Americans believe sexual harassment in the workplace is “a serious problem.” Only 47 percent considered it problematic in 2011.

What does this mean for business owners and executives? How do they keep their businesses safe, out of the headlines and away from the courthouse?

The first step is acknowledging that any workplace, no matter how professional and collegial, could have a problem. A 2017 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 30

percent of women surveyed had received an unwanted sexual advance at work. Of those who felt they were victims of sexual harassment, 76 percent did not report it. In other words, don’t pat yourself on the back if your business has had no complaints about workplace harassment – the majority of instances go unreported. Note that harassment victims are not necessarily female. Women can harass men, and the law also prohibits same-sex harassment. Harassment becomes unlawful when it is based on sex (or another legally protected category, like race or religion) and is severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of employment and offend a reasonable person.

Businesses should be alert for red flags, like low morale, high turnover, or gossip about how someone is behaving. Comments like “ignore her, she’s just inappropriate” or “boys will be boys” are warning signs.

Be aware of risk factors in your business. If there are “superstar” employees who are considered to be untouchable because of the revenue they produce or the skills they possess, harassment claims are more likely. Any significant imbalances of power are a risk, as are night shifts, remote work locations, and departments/operations that lack diversity (e.g., a construction site with one female welder).

The best defense against workplace harassment is a healthy company culture. Businesses should strive to:

• Create a culture of genuine respect and equality

• Apply the same rules to everyone,

from the custodian to the CEO

• Cultivate a workplace of upstanders, not bystanders

“Upstanders” are people who will speak up if someone crosses a line, even if the behavior is not directed at them. Most people would rather mind their own business, especially in an awkward situation or a conflict, so businesses should proactively encourage their employees to speak up.

Anti-harassment policies are important – they should be updated regularly and should include multiple ways for an employee to report a concern. A good policy encourages employees to report issues to a supervisor, to human resources, or even to the company president. Hotlines can be used to allow anonymous reporting.

Training is also critical. If the company has the resources to hire an attorney or consultant to conduct live training sessions, it should do so. Studies show that online training modules are not effective, probably because people multitask when training online.

Training sessions are most effective when the anti-harassment message comes from the top. Ideally, the business owner or president should introduce the training, encourage dialogue and actively participate. If there are multiple training sessions, a senior manager should participate in each one. Of course, attendance records should be kept.

Given the #MeToo movement, employers can expect an increase in harassment claims. Savvy businesses should take this opportunity to assess their risks, improve policies and training, and cultivate a healthy corporate culture.

Vianei Lopez Braun is a shareholder in Decker Jones, P.C. She represents employers in many business sectors and provides litigation defense, training and practical advice.

POWER DINING HOT SPOTS

Close your next deal at one of these business-friendly bistros

B&B Butchers & Restaurant

The Shops at Clearfork, 5212 Marathon Ave., 817.737.5212 Butcher Shop: 817.731.5360, bbbutchers.com/fortworth

B&B is Fort Worth’s only upscale steakhouse and traditional butcher shop specializing in high-quality meats and elevated customer service. Our menu includes 100 percent authentic, A5 certified Kobe beef, the finest Texas and Japanese Wagyu beef, as well as in-house 28-day and 55-day dry-aged USDA Prime beef – all hand cut in the Butcher Shop.

B&B Butchers & Restaurant

Meet Our Meat – The Ultimate Dinner Party

An exclusive, 12-course meat tasting and wine pairing in the Butcher Shop, guests have the rare opportunity to taste and compare the flavor components of our exclusive cellar cuts while learning about the meat and the dry-aging process. Plus, wine enthusiasts will enjoy a handpicked variety masterfully paired with each cut by the sommelier.

B&B Butchers & Restaurant Power Lunch

The lunch menu, which is a delightful recess from the dinner menu, includes hamburgers, meat-driven pastas, pizzas, salads and sandwiches along with noteworthy dishes like a Bone-In Chopped Steak and Wagyu Skirt Steak Frites. Not in the mood for meat? Our lunch and dinner menus offer fresh and noteworthy seafood dishes along with vegetarian options.

B&B Butchers & Restaurant Private Dining

We have five unique and premier private dining spaces that are ideal for your next celebration or office gathering. Our private events coordinator will take personal care of your custom-printed menus, specially tailored wine pairings, floral decoration, musical entertainment and more.

M&A Risk: Middle Market Healthcare Services

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions were hot in 2017, thanks to increased regulation and other factors, but the rapidly changing environment carries significant risks

BY KEVIN OLVERA AND SHAUN BUCKLEY

Merger and acquisition activity in 2017 was at a high level, thanks to low borrowing costs, a strong equities market, high levels of capital and low rates of organic growth in many industry sectors.

Healthcare — including acute care, chronic care, and medical technology — was a particularly active area. M&A activity was higher than average, even though transaction multiples tended to be higher than in many other industry sectors.

Increased regulation has been a major driver of M&A in healthcare and life sciences. The highly fragmented marketplace is consolidating to create economies of scale as larger networks look to save on cost of compliance. Long-term care was one of the most active areas for M&A within healthcare and is likely to remain so as interest rates remain low. Healthcare technology is another active area, as investors look to capitalize on bridging the gap between higher value care at a lower cost.

Healthcare deals offer rich opportunities, but the rapidly evolving environment carries significant risks.

Increased Use of E-Records

As of 2016, over 95 percent of hospital systems eligible for the Medicare and Med-

icaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Program were successfully using electronic records. While meaningful use requirements began in 2011, many middle-market healthcare providers and those outside of the hospital setting weren’t required to migrate to electronic records.

Buyers of smaller practices that have not completely automated their revenue cycle and health records should use extra due diligence. Paper processes often lack visibility into a provider’s practice, potentially creating a negative impact on the transaction price. A buyer may also perceive paper-based or multiple systems to be costly to integrate.

Evaluating Software Systems

Healthcare companies use a variety of revenue cycle systems to schedule, perform services, invoice and receive payments. These systems may provide vital information for a potential acquirer. Understanding the target’s revenue cycle is critical. Buyers should undertake a thorough review of the target’s processes and related documentation. A buyer’s request for information may include case data, types of services, dates, locations, amounts, primary payers, providers, times and other relevant data. While system data provides a potential buyer with essential information, it may be difficult to assess its validity. Thus, it is crucial for the buyer and the seller to arrive at a mutual understanding of the data used to evaluate revenues and reimbursement.

Reimbursement Rates and Timing

Reimbursement rates carry a high level of uncertainty, requiring significant due diligence to understand reimbursement trends from commercial and government payers, as well as others. Buyers need to have a firm grasp on the typical cash collection cycle, how the patient mix has evolved and the level of government versus private reimbursement risk.

Reimbursement rate uncertainty and the timing of reimbursements are usually noted in a quality of earnings report produced during due diligence. An estimation of monthly or annual revenue adjustments often becomes a focal point of negotiations. The resulting adjustments could be significant, affecting terms of a contemplated transaction. For example, it’s not uncommon for a complete settlement of a patient’s claims to be made a year after service. It’s also critical to examine the collections of percentage of claims over time, the rates of denied claims, and the rates of paid claims by procedure or case mix by payer over time.

Different payer contracts can also lead to varying reimbursement rates. As the transition to value-based reimbursement models gains momentum, providers will need to document metrics for different payer and contract requirements. For example, one payer contract may provide for a higher reimbursement based on structural measures, such as physician to patient ratio or the use of medical records. Another payer contract may provide higher reimbursement based on outcomes.

Kevin Olvera

They can be reached at kolvera@bdo.com and sbuckley@bdo.com.

is a healthcare assurance partner, and Shaun Buckley is a partner in the transaction advisory services group with BDO USA, LLP — a global accounting and advisory firm with offices in Fort Worth and Dallas. They’re writing this column on behalf of the Fort Worth CPAs, a regular contributor to FW Inc.

POWER DINING HOT SPOTS

Close your next deal at one of these business-friendly bistros

Pinstripes

5001 Trailhead Bend Way, Fort Worth 76109, 682.352.0808 pinstripes.com

We are “people people.” We love food, games, events and getting people together. We provide unique entertainment in sophisticated, comfortable spaces to gather — served by our seasonal scratch kitchen. We then host tailored combinations of dining, bowling, bocce, events and catering. Enjoy a genuine moment connecting with the people you care about at Pinstripes.

Ol’ South Pancake House

1509 S. University Drive, 817.336.0311 olsouthpancakehouse.com

Ol’ South Pancake House is where the entire family can enjoy Southern homestyle cooking at any time of the day or night. Signature dishes have kept our guests coming back for more, with our most popular World Famous German Pancakes being served over 40,000 times each year to our loyal customers.

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Tone Deaf

Five reasons why engaging your employees is good

More than half of U.S. employees were “not engaged,” according to a Gallup Poll. Why’s that important?

Giving employees a voice leads to more engagement and greater success, says Keith Martino, a leadership expert.

“When we provide employees with access to the corporate microphone, the music can be instantaneous and breathtaking,” says Martino, author of the book Expect Leadership and head of CMI, a consultancy that customizes leadership and sales development initiatives. Capturing employee voice is a fast-growing workforce trend, he says. “Companies are constantly striving to please their customers, but the same vital attention needs to be given to their strongest asset, the employees. When employees are given a voice, it

makes all the difference, building trust, bringing a higher level of performance and leading to success for all.”

1

Discovers hidden talent.

“People who were buried deep in the organizational chart bring solutions with their fresh perspective and broadened roles,” Martino says. “Once viewed as disengaged, they are seen in a new light, now fully utilized and helping the company to prosper. By inviting more ideas, you’ve opened up a new world for your organization.”

2

Increases camaraderie, enhances culture. “The mood shoots up when every-

one suddenly feels more valued by being heard,” Martino says. “You will be pleasantly surprised by the smiling faces and camaraderie that return to your employee base. Employees love working in an environment where everyone is really listened to and their ideas matter.”

3

Energizes, drives productivity. “A happier, more appreciated work culture leads to a more energized workforce,” Martino says. “When employees start feeling heard – seeing ideas implemented and knowing they have real input – it encourages buy-in and even more effort, so productivity goes up.”

4

Diagnoses, clarifies.

“Getting to the source of problems means getting to the truth, and without repercussions in telling it,” Martino says. “This clears obstacles. And by bouncing ideas off others, hearing their concerns and perspectives, you stay true to company goals and improve the company’s way of getting there.”

5

Identifies future leaders.

“Empowering everyone by giving them a voice inspires confidence, allowing leaders to emerge,” Martino says. “Some may not initially see themselves that way, but they will be self-evident by the clarity of their reasoning and the courage of their convictions. Good management unlocks potential, empowers it, and here is another example of that. The results of this dramatically improved communication between employer and employee are immediate and lasting. The relationship is enhanced in multiple, measurable ways.”

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Who’s Got Your Back?

And are you looking out for them? Many business owners and executives forget to express gratitude to the employees who keep the trains running – and it can be a costly mistake.

BY TONY FORD CEO Success Fort Worth

Quick, make a mental list of the people whom you depend on to be happy, healthy and successful. Chances are it includes your family members, friends, co-workers, employees, trusted professional, clients, vendors, health care professionals, and others.

Now, ask yourself the question: How am I looking out for them?

Chances are that you are doing a pretty good job of expressing your gratitude to the people in your immediate circle (family and friends). But what about everyone else – especially your employees?

In our roles as business owners, executives or managers, it is easy to find our focus fixed on projects and outcomes rather than people and relationships. When this happens, we often find ourselves isolated, frustrated and unable to properly motivate others toward what we hope are our shared goals.

If this situation sounds familiar to you, I have some ideas that will help you change things for the better and prevent the predicable “disconnect” that so often occurs when we take our people for granted.

But first, please consider this: If up to now, you have been an owner/leader who genuinely doesn’t care how your people feel or think about the way you run your company, these concepts may create a whole new opportunity to re-engage the hearts and minds of your people in a mutually beneficial way.

As an executive coach, I often work

with owners/leaders who have not yet grasped the truth of how their employees are looking out for them. So much so, that they do not realize that they are way behind in expressing gratitude to their workforce.

OWNER CARE: This is a phrase I created to communicate to business owners (and managers) all of the things their employees do to support and protect them – that they as owners are not even aware of. Owner care activities include all of the customer problems, vendor issues, personnel conflicts and minor disasters that dedicated employees resolve every day before they rise to the level of “telling the boss.” It also includes not doing exactly what the boss said, but rather doing what is necessary to get the outcome the boss wants (especially when the boss is not a subject expert in that area). In healthy companies, owner care activities continually free up the mind of the owner/leader to both vision and implement needed changes toward growth and success. But that is only part of the process. Unless the owner/leader recognizes that all of this is taking place just below the surface, he or she will not properly return the gratitude and effort needed to keep the employees motivated to continue performing owner care actions.

If you have not considered how much your people do to actually have your back via owner care activities, here are some practical ways to show your appreciation:

• Personal attention: Every person in your company appreciates personal one-on-one time with you. So, slow down, sit down and get down to a real conversation with employees on a regular basis. Before you were a boss, you were a regular person with the same “stuff” that they deal with every day. If you don’t know the names of your employees’ kids (and maybe even their dog or cat) – that is a great place to start. Before they can really know you, they need to be known by you.

• Public recognition: Employees appreciate being recognized for outstanding performance. Often, owners and executives will delegate the public recognition of their performance to their direct supervisor. While there is nothing wrong with this per se, it represents a major missed opportunity for the owner/leader to elevate the importance of the achievement in a very public way that connects them to the employee and shows their personal gratitude for the extra effort. Owner recognition is powerful.

• Professional respect: When introducing an employee to a new customer, vendor or other professional, the owner/leader has the opportunity to use the employee’s proper title, share a recent award or achievement and elevate the employee in the mind of the other person. Too often (and without conscious thought), owners/ leaders often use the introduction process as a way of elevating themselves at the expense of the employee’s professional reputation. It may be done in a kidding way, but it is not appreciated by the employee. Example: “Let me introduce you to Joe; I’m not sure what all he does, but I know it’s important.” (Supposed to be funny – but it is not!)

• Primary importance: Every employee interaction provides the owner/leader with the opportunity to reinforce the employee’s importance to the team or to diminish their role and

contributions. Small encouragements, even in the face of mistakes from the owner/leader, go a long way in binding the employee to the company and its goals. Again, an often-overlooked opportunity to express gratitude.

•Proper use of power: Owners/leaders who take every employee interaction as an opportunity to reassert their position of authority totally misuse their power and undermine their own agenda. Every employee understands who the boss is. It is the boss’s job to help them understand that he/she is there to support their efforts with the tools and resources of the company. That is the proper use of owner/leader power.

Every organization is a reflection of the collective personalities, goals and interactions of its leaders and employees. Too often, a genuine lack of expressed gratitude on the part of the owner/leader tremendously lessens the power of the company to stand out in the marketplace against its competitors.

If you are an owner/leader who has neglected or never really considered how much power you have to positively leverage the goodwill of your employees, I invite you to ponder and apply these principles. I have used them to great effect in my own companies and continually help my coaching clients implement them in theirs.

Trust me when I tell you that your gratitude, expressed in these powerful ways, will bless you and your employees in ways you can’t even imagine. Please let me know when they do.

Till then, I will be praying and cheering for your success!

Tony Ford is an awardwinning entrepreneur with a history of starting and growing industry-leading companies. He now helps other businesses grow and sell their companies and was program director for the 2017 and 2018 FW Inc. Entrepreneur of Excellence awards program. He writes this column for each issue of FW Inc. tford@tonyford.com

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Hit Refresh

Three things to expect from the BAC Education Foundation/AccelerateDFW rebrand.

BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN

organized with WeWork, that give entrepreneurs the chance to put what they’re learning into practice.

“Just providing resources like incubators, accelerators and things like that is not enough to really activate the entrepreneurs who are in need of help and assistance,” Johnson says. “You need to have some experiential opportunities.”

IDEA Works Ah yes, IDEA Works. Johnson says the mixed-industry business incubator will become a more robust, outcome-oriented program — that means a company won’t be expected to stay at IDEA Works for a long period of time. Instead, when entrepreneurs come in, they will be expected to set goals, keep track of Key Performance Indicators, and meet that goal within an allotted amount of time.

“The idea is to create greater throughput of entrepreneurs/companies to get them out into the ecosystem more quickly and welcome new ones as often as possible,” Johnson says.

It’s official. The BAC Education Foundation — a local nonprofit that provides support to entrepreneurs and startups in the area — has rebranded as the AccelerateDFW Foundation.

The rebrand is an effort, in part to clarify the organization’s independence from the city (it began as a way to help get Texas state funds to the City of Fort Worth’s Business Assistance Center), but it also gives the group a chance to expand its program offerings and scope.

The move, however, begged a question regarding one of the BAC Education Foundation’s initiatives: What happens to IDEA Works?

The answer: IDEA Works stays and keeps its name, but it also promises an improved set of programming.

IDEA Works becomes one of three verticals that fall under the AccelerateDFW umbrella. The other two — a productfocused program called Trax & Stax and a series of hands-on educational opportuni-

ties for entrepreneurs.

“It’s all AccelerateDFW,” said Marco Johnson, director of programming for the foundation. “We want the foundation to be front and center.”

Here’s a quick look at what’s happening.

Trax & Stax Trax & Stax is a new program currently in development that focuses on a more specific part of the business — the product. This threemonth-long curriculum will center solely on developing business ideas and testing their viability. At press time, the program was undergoing beta testing. It’s expected to launch this fall.

Entrepreneurial education This vertical (not formally given a name yet) involves AccelerateDFW collaborating with other organizations to put together educational events and activities that are more experiential and hands-on. Think Startup Weekend and workshops like Design Thinking, which AcclerateDFW

AccelerateDFW is also teaming up with TCU, UNTHSC, WeWork, Common Desk, Ensemble Coworking, TECH Fort Worth, and the Business Assistance Center to launch a new event, Startup Crawl, on May 31.

The event invites the public to travel to six locations — the Guinn complex, WeWork, UNTHSC, Common Desk, Ensemble Coworking and TCU — where startups will be showcasing their products and services.

More information about the event can be found at startupcrawlfw.org.

Call for Nominations and Applications

Is your company one of the best places to work for in Fort Worth?

Fort Worth INC. is pleased to present the 2018 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth awards. Our program uses a two-part assessment process taking into account the employer’s policies, practices, benefits and demographics, as well as the company’s employees and their engagement and satisfaction. After all, employees know best if their company is a great company to work for or not. The combined employer and employee components assessment produces both quantitative and qualitative data that will be analyzed to determine the final rankings. The winning companies will be recognized in the November/December issue of Fort Worth INC. and honored at an awards event.

To register your

and

Jyric Sims

From working out before dawn and dropping his children at school, to visiting patients daily and meeting with community members, Medical City Fort Worth’s new CEO crams in a full day.

5 a.m. Alarm goes off, and I head to LA Fitness to exercise.

6 a.m. Return home to get ready for work.

7 a.m. Leave the house and drop my 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son at school on my way to the hospital. This gives me a chance to spend a little one-on-one time with them in the car. Today, my daughter reads aloud to me that “the cat is red.”

7:30 a.m. Arrive at the Medical City Fort Worth. After checking emails and looking over today’s packed calendar, I stop by an orientation session to welcome new employees who are joining our team of 1,000 professionals. Employee engagement is an important part of my job, making sure that we all are working together as a team.

8 a.m. Every morning, I “round” on employees

and patients. I visit various hospital units, stopping by the nurses’ station, for example, to see how things are going. I visit several patient rooms, chatting with them and their family members to make sure they are satisfied with the care they are receiving.

9 a.m. I join the hospital’s daily Safety and Patient Experience “huddle” with our leadership team. Our leaders round on, or

visit, patients daily, then report back to this group.

9:30 a.m. I speak at our hospital’s Donate Life Month Ceremony. As home to the Medical City Fort Worth Transplant Institute, we work to promote awareness of the importance of organ donation. I am always inspired by the stories from the transplant recipients and their families, as well as the families of organ donors. This is just one of many community events in which our team members will participate this month.

10:30 a.m. Pop in on the Robotics service line Monthly Operational Review meeting for updates from our specialty surgeons, who are performing procedures with one of the three different types of robotic surgical systems at Medical City Fort Worth.

11:30 a.m. Civic lunch with an elected official, community group or local business leader. Building and maintaining positive relationships with the community we serve are very important.

1:30 p.m.

Conference call with representatives from our Medical City Healthcare division office. Because Medical City Fort Worth

is one of 14 Dallas-Fort Worth area hospitals in the Medical City Healthcare system, I am frequently on conference calls where we share information and expertise across the division. The same holds true for conference calls with our corporate team at HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of health care services.

3 p.m. I put on a hard hat and safety vest and walk across the street for a construction tour of our new patient tower. It is exciting to see how quickly things are progressing on this $64 million project, which will feature a new Emergency Department, additional space for our intensive care patients and a new helipad. It is scheduled to open for patients in January 2019.

4 p.m. Back to my office to catch up on emails, prepare for tomorrow’s meetings and meet with various physicians and staff members.

5:30 p.m. Head out to a community reception or dinner event with physicians. Several evenings a week, I am out connecting with the community.

7 p.m. Make it home and spend some time with my wife, daughter and son before bed.

Barclay Berdan CEO, Texas Health Resources